


Forgotten

by SakinaRiver



Category: Ai no Kusabi
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-01-27 21:17:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 53,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12590716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakinaRiver/pseuds/SakinaRiver
Summary: After returning from a much desired break from his life in Eos, Riki returns to an unexpected welcoming: a world where he doesn't exist anymore. A quick glimpse of himself shows a big problem. Can he figure out what happened and who's behind it all and return to Iason's arms or will he risk it all for nothing but heart break and possible permanent demise?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I decided to bring this over from FF with a few edits (mispellings and such). I'm not going to take the time to split it into Chapters anymore than how I have the original documents setup. 
> 
> The big reason for bringing this over is that I have a new chapter for Forgotten: Alternitive and for those that haven't read the it, it would seem weird to post a single chapter that seems very out of the blue. So over the next few days I'll be uploading as I finish editing. If anything big gets changed, I will post it as it's own little chapter.

He sat leaning against the padded wall as he stared into space.  Every few minutes a tremor would pass through his arms, trying to break free from the crisscrossed shackles that held his wrists to his sides.  He took in deep breathes as he tried to calm his body down again when emotion built up to an uncontrollable level.

Silently he looked around the darkened cell.  The last time he had been in one of the cells in Tanagura, a light had been on from above that left the room a strange shade of green.  This time the light was off…probably because he had attacked the guards that tried to enter the room.

Against his better desire the door opened letting the light flood into the room.  He closed his eyes trying to force it out but it had already affected him enough so that he was seeing spots.

“Calmed down yet, trash,” the voice asked from the doorway.

Slowly he opened his eyes, glancing up at the men.  “Let me see him.  Let me talk to Iason,” he demanded his voice dry from lack of fluids.

“ _Lord Mink_ doesn’t have any idea who you are and isn’t going to waste his time,” the man said firmly.  “His excellency has ordered us to let you go so long as you say you won’t come near Tanagura again.”

He shook his head.  No, Iason knew who he was; he had to know after everything they had been through.  This had to be nothing but a dream…a bad dream.  “Let me talk to him,” he demanded again.

The man rolled his eyes and started to close the door.  “Personally I believe you can rot in here, mongrel trash,” he said as he closed the door.  “Riki the Dark huh,” the man laughed to his friend from the other side.

Tears streamed down Riki’s face, staining the outfit that he wore.  Iason had to know who he was.  The memories he had in his mind were fresh and real.  Just last week his domineering Blondie had held him close and whispered how he would never let him go…but now….

Falling sideways he curled into a ball.  Was this punishment because he had pestered the blond to let him see his gang?  He didn’t think he had asked that many times.  Hell he had even said he loved Iason when the other finally agreed to allow him three days in Ceres unsupervised.  He had been so happy when he gave the permission he let the Blondie do whatever he wanted to him.

But then that didn’t make sense.  He had been gone for three days now and returned on time.  Any other day Iason would have been waiting at the door for him when he returned home.  But this time the doors wouldn’t even open.  Multiple scans of his retina reported that he didn’t even exist in the system. 

His call to Iason to ask what was going on hadn’t gone through either.  Even when he tried calling Cal the call was denied.  His phone had reported that it was not able to call the numbers which didn’t make any sense.  It was a phone from Tanagura so it had the permissions to access the network and call the numbers in Eos.  If it had been a phone from Ceres or Midas that message would have made sense.  But not with one that was personally handed to him by his lover.

Quietly he laid there trying to figure things out.  He took a deep breath and let the day replay in his mind. 

He remembered crossing the border to Midas.  He had no issue and no one challenged him as he merged into the populated streets of Midas.  Yeah everyone cleared a path for him and treated him like there was an invisible wall around him, but that was normal.  His approach to Eos Tower two wasn’t any different than normal either.  No one stopped him or said anything to him.

There were no issues when he walked into the tower either.  The gates fluttered open just like they normally would have, allowing him into the lobby.  It wasn’t until he got to the elevators that he ran into any troubles.  He tried to have the system scan his retina’s to open the elevator but the system reported he didn’t exist.  A second and every additional attempt reported the same.

As the confusion of the situation hit him, he remembered that he could use his finger prints too.  He tried this, and got the same results. 

At this point people were staring at him.  Shaking his head not caring about the people, he pulled out his mobile and tried calling his Blondie.  That’s when he got the message which shocked him, that he did not have permission to call the number.  Thinking nothing of it he tried the terminal in the pent house knowing that Cal would pick up.  The same message played for him.

“Sir, is there something we can help you with,” a guard asked as the two approached him.

Riki turned and hesitated for a minute.  No one ever talked to him; they would just report everything straight to their respected boss and have them handle it.  “The system is pissed off apparently,” he mumbled.

The two men were surprised to hear the language from the man before them.  Most people in Eos, except Elites, spoke with respect and such.  Hearing a person speak so harshly about a system controlled by Jupiter was not something they expected.

“What is your purpose in Eos,” the second guard asked.

Riki turned to the men and sighed.  “I live here,” he mumbled.  “But the door won’t open.”

The men glanced at one another.  “You live in Eos Tower?  With who,” the first one asked.

He raised a brow at the question.  Everyone in Eos knows who he was.  These two must be new.  “I live with your bosses, bosses boss,” he replied, which was true.  They probably reported to someone who reported to Orphe who reports to Iason. 

“You’re too cheeky to be Furniture,” the second pointed out.  “And not refined enough to be a pet.  So what are you then?”

A question he hated to answer.  Mainly because then the follow-up question was always ‘Where is your pet ring?’ which always led to him not wanting to answer the questions anymore.  “I’m the pet of Iason Mink,” he mumbled.  “And no, I won’t show you my pet ring.  He’d kick my ass and I really don’t feel like getting punished right now.”

The two men again looked at one another.  Suddenly they broke out laughing.  “You, a pet,” one laughed as he held his sides.  “That’s a good one kid.  Who are you really,” he asked as he tried to straighten up.

The statement made him confused.  New or not, everyone knew that Iason had a mongrel pet.  They were taught that in basic training, after all the issues he had with security.  “Just call him and ask.  Or call your bosses boss, Orphe, and he will confirm it.  Hell, call Raoul and he’ll unwillingly tell ya,” Riki said as he leaned against the wall, closing his eyes.

Straightening up, the men look the mongrel over.  “What’s your name, funny man?”

“Riki,” he replied as he glared at them.

Quietly the second man pulled out his phone and called up to an unknown number.  “My apologies for disturbing you, sir.  I have a person here who claims to be the pet of Sir Mink…” he paused as the other person spoke.  “Thank you very much for confirming.  We will handle this,” he said as he ended the call.  “Sir Mink doesn’t have a pet, funny man.”

Riki’s eyes went wide.  “What?  Says who?”

“Sir Mink’s furniture, a young man that provided the name of Cal,” he said firmly.  “He stated that Sir Mink hasn’t had a pet for the last year.”

He stood straight, stunned by what the man said to him.  Cal said that?  There was no way.  Cal…the kid never said that he had any issues with him.  He never even reported to Iason anything that he did that would normally get him in trouble.  Why would he lie now?  “Call him back,” Riki demanded.

The other man shook his head.  “No can do.  Now if you are done, you can leave the building.  Or do we need to escort you out?”

“Call Cal back,” he demanded again.  “I don’t believe that you called him.”

The next thing he remembered was a shock going through his system and he woke up in the cell.  After a few minutes someone had tried to enter the room and tell him what occurred.  That they had even reached out to Iason and the Blondie told them to cut him loose. 

But that couldn’t be right.  Slowly Riki pushed himself up and sat on the bed.  Why had he rejected him?  Did he not want him back?

Again tears fell from his eyes.  He didn’t want to be here anymore.  He wanted to be next to his Blondie, even if that meant he would be tormented and punished.  “Fuck,” he yelled out. 

After a few minutes the door opened again.

Slowly Riki opened his eyes, the sound of the door waking him from his short lived sleep.  He looked at the figure, surprised to see it was a Blondie elite.  “Raoul,” he whispered.

“Listen to me now, pest,” he spat.  “These men will take you to the border and you will return to Ceres.  If you ever return here again, I will personally dispose of you.  It has taken the last half a year to get Iason’s mind off his dead pet and function normally again, and I won’t have some look-a-like ruin everything.”

Riki stared at the Blondie dumbfounded.  “Dead…?” he asked softly.  “No…what do you mean dead?”

The Blondie rolled his eyes.  “His pet that you are trying to imitate died a year ago.”  He paused.  “Why am I explaining myself to a mongrel,” he growled, turning to the soldiers.  “Dress him and deposit him in Ceres.  Pass his description around to every department.  If he comes near Eos than he is to be brought directly to me,” he said as he started to walk away.

“Wait, Raoul!  Please wait,” he yelled.  When the Blondie didn’t stop he kept yelling out.  “Raoul, I’m Riki…I’m Iason’s pet!  I can prove it to you, please just wait!”

Turning Raoul scoffed.  “I saw the body.  I personally DNA tested and confirmed it was Riki.  There is no way you can convince me-“

“Mimea!  You had a pet named Mimea that I slept with without permission just to spite Iason.  Iason called you while he was punishing me and you had her on a leash and she said that she loved me…that she wanted to be my mate, not…whoever you had decided for her,” he yelled, knowing that wasn’t something either would have talked about with anyone else.

His eyes flickered as he thought back to the event that lost him his pet.  “How do you know about that,” he growled.

He tried to stand.  “Because I’m Riki…Iason let me go a few days ago to see my gang.”

“Riki has been dead for a year,” Raoul repeated as he turned fully to the mongrel.  “He jumped off the balcony of the apartment in Apatia.”

His legs started to shake.  He had mentioned jumping to Iason once before but never intended to do it.  All he wanted was to be able to leave Eos.  But wait, something wasn’t clicking.  A year?  No, it had been five days at most. 

Quietly Riki lowered his head.  “Raoul, I will prove to you however you want that I am Riki.  I’m not dead,” he whispered.  “Just please, I want to see Iason again,” he choked out.

Raoul stood there quietly.  There was no way the mongrel had survived.  He knew that without a doubt Riki was dead.  But that he knew about Mimea.  Yes everyone knew about the affair since they had coupled in a pet area, but no one new about her refusing to have anyone but Riki.  That was something he and Iason had kept between each other. 

Quietly he turned to the guards who were standing confused.  Against his better judgment he sighed and glanced at Riki.  “Release him and give him his clothes back.  Then escort him to my lab.”

Silently Riki raised his head.  It wasn’t what he wanted to hear but it was a step closer.  If he could get out of the Lab, he knew that Iason’s office was just on the next floor up.

…

Riki sat on the table, glaring at the Blondie.  Raoul had thought ahead and chained his right ankle to the examination bed.  Even better it was a fingerprint lock that only the blond could remove. 

“Are you done yet,” Riki mumbled as he tapped his foot.  He wanted to get out and find his jerk already.

Raoul glared at the possible pet.  “DNA takes two hours to run through the system.  If you would rather, I can have you taken back to your cell.”

Riki sighed as he looked down.  “Fine,” he mumbled.  “How has a year passed though?  I remember…I remember talking to Iason just days ago,” he whispered as he stared at his leather pants.  “I can still feel him in me,” he added quietly.

Slowly Raoul looked over to the mongrel.  There was no way that this could be the Riki that he hated.  He didn’t even really look like the pet.

A chime from the computer made him look at the screen.  He closed his eyes and stood, turning to a locked cabinet a few feet away.

“Is it done?  What’s it say,” Riki asked as he gripped the edge of the table.  “Please tell me,” he yelled as he watched Raoul open the door and remove a vial.  He watched as the blond grabbed a syringe and stuck it in the top.  “What is that?”

Raoul glanced at the pet and then finished getting the correct dose.  “This is a liquid of my own creation.  It will put you to sleep.  While asleep your body will shut down until finally your heart stops and you cease being a thorn in my side,” he explained as he set the vial down.

His eyes went wide as he looked at the needle.  “N-no, you can’t,” he cried.  He reached down and tried to pull free from the chain.  “Damn it,” he cried. 

The Blondie stopped right before the teen.  “You messed up in your attempt to imitate the little pest.  Riki has black hair,” he said firmly.

Riki stopped.  Black hair?  Duh, he’s always had black hair.  That was one of the things that Iason loved about him the most.  But what did Raoul mean by pointing that out?  What the hell color was his hair now if not black?

Not waiting he grabbed a chunk of his hair and ripped it out much to the Blondie’s surprise.  “Brown,” he whispered.  Fear coursed through his body.  When did his hair turn brown?

He yelled out in frustration as he tossed the hair on the ground.  Laying back he took a deep breath as he fell off the side of the table onto the ground.  There he laid, tears pouring from his eyes.  “Iason,” he cried.  “Please just tell me this is a bad dream,” he said.  “Please, I can’t do this…I need him,” he added.

The Blondie raised a brow at the display.  He had seen humans act strangely when they were about to be killed but this emotional roller coaster was a first.

“Sir Am, pardon the intrusion,” a man said from the door way.  “You are needed at Medical.”

Raoul turned to glare at the minion then nodded.  “Tell them I will be there in a few minutes,” he said as he set the syringe on the table.  “In the meantime, you need to think long and hard about your position right now.  When I get back I expect you to tell me why you have impersonated him and what you hoped to gain,” he said as he turned back to his computer.  He tapped a few commands locking the computer before walking out of the lab and locking the door.

Riki laid there crying trying to figure out what the hell was going on.  He had never shown so much emotion before, but here he was crying more than he had ever cried in his life.  Even when Iason worked him over he didn’t cry this much.

It was probably an hour before he sat up.  He could hear the chain jingling around as he moved but didn’t care.  There was no way he would be able to get it off no matter how hard he tried.  He remembered when Iason had used a similar one on him, locking him to their shared bed for a week.  Luckily the chain had been long enough for him to be able to get to the bathroom when needed.

He looked around the lab trying to figure out what to do now.  The computer he could see from where he sat was no use.  And with his hair being brown…would Iason even recognize him?  What else had changed about him without him realizing?

 _“Child,”_ a voice whispered in the back of his head.  _“Go now.”_

Riki looked around trying to figure out where the words came from.  As he looked around the room he stood up, realizing that the chain had fallen free.  This made no sense to him at all.  The screen showed that it had been deactivated as if Raoul had unlocked it.

Even though he could still feel the slight sting from ripping his hair out, he pinched his arm to make sure he hadn’t fallen asleep.  When he felt the sting, he looked at the door.  Quickly he ran to it and was surprised to see it open.

What surprised him even more was that on his way out of the department, there was no one.  Not a soul was around anywhere.

Not wasting any time he ran through the halls until he reached a door that lead to a stairwell.  Raoul’s lab was on the 23rd floor and Iason’s office was on the 24th. This late in the evening Iason was probably already at home.

If he could make it to the 12th floor he could take the bridge to Eos two.  He forced the door open and started the decent.

…

“Welcome home Master,” Cal said as he took the Blondie’s cape.  “May I get you anything?”

“No,” Iason said as he started into the penthouse.  He looked around the room and slowly started to walk towards his room.  “No disruptions,” he said as he started down the hall.

Cal lowered his head.  “Yes Master.”  The Blondie had been acting like this ever since.  It was hard for him to watch the even more lack of emotion than before. 

Quietly he hung the cape and started about his duties for the night.  Ever since Riki’s passing he had more free time on his hands. Not that it was because he didn’t like Riki, by no means was that the case.  But since his passing, Iason had not needed him. 

The lead Blondie had withdrawn so much.  It had become work to make him eat and most of the time the food went untouched.  After a while he just stopped cooking for his master, knowing that the food would be wasted.

Looking around the apartment he quickly returned to his cleaning.  With Iason retiring to his room he wouldn’t be needed anymore.

…

Iason stared at the bed he once shared with his love.  Now he couldn’t even sleep in it.  The blankets sat as they had when Riki left when he woke up that morning, crumpled up and misplaced on the bed as if someone had just gotten up.

He wouldn’t allow Cal to fix it.  The blankets and sheets hadn’t even been changed.  He couldn’t lose what he had left of his pet. 

Slowly he staggered over to the bed and fell to his knees on the floor next to where Riki would normally sleep.  “Pet, it’s time to wake up,” he whispered, his eyes glazing over with memories.  He could still imagine his love lying in the bed refusing to get up.  “Fine, you can rest longer,” he whispered to no one.

After a minute he laid his forehead on the edge of the bed and sat there.  He stayed like this, frozen, playing back memories of when his Riki was still alive; still stubborn and prideful.  Silent tears pooled on the sheets but he refused to move from the spot. 

How his heart hurt.  If he could, he would join his pet in the afterlife.  He wanted to be with him so much that it dulled out his other emotions…emotions that shouldn’t even exist in the first place.

After he tried and failed to join his beloved, his attitude changed.  He began to lie to everyone.  When his brothers would ask how he was holding up or how things were going now, he put on his normal stone faced persona and lied to them all, telling them that he didn’t need his pet.  Every time he said the words it made his heart break more.

If there was even anything left of his heart he wasn’t sure anymore.  By now his heart had to have been ripped to shreds.  He just wanted his love back in his arms.  Nothing else mattered.  He would give up everything, his power, his seat on the Tanagura throne, his riches, his body…just to have his mongrel back.

As he sat there his body shut down.  A precaution Jupiter had installed in him after the pet’s death.  If his emotions welled up too much, his mind would shut down and leave him sitting there silently hibernating until a full system reboot brought him back to life.

This was the only way he was able to rest.

…

Riki panted as he stared across the bridge.  It took a few minutes but he was finally there.  Damn he was tired now.

Quickly he wiped the sweet from his forehead and started running again.  Once he got across he ran for the stairwell again.  The shitty part was that now he had to climb from the 12th floor to the 36th.  This was going to take a while.

Rather than running it and burning out, he started at a steady pace up the stairs.  He couldn’t risk not making it…not seeing his Blondie.  More than anything he needed to see him and know if what Raoul said was true or not. 

There was no way he could believe a year had passed or that he was dead.  Yeah, okay, his hair being brown threw him for a loop but he could figure that out later.  Right now he just needed to focus on getting home.

“Fuck,” Riki whispered when he reached the 25th floor. Turning around he plopped down on the stairs.  The best part about the stairs was that no one ever used them.  In the four years he had been there they had actually been used maybe once? 

Quietly he laid back and closed his eyes.  He couldn’t stay in one spot long.  There was no way to know when Raoul would return to his office and realize he had somehow escaped.  On top of that he wanted to figure out what was going on.

After a few minutes he got up and continued the trek up the stairs.  Though now he wondered how he was going to get into the apartment.  Obviously Cal wasn’t going to left him just waltz in like before.  As he walked he thought about it more.

He leaned on the wall and sighed, taking a few deep breaths.  “Damn,” he mumbled.  “Some plan,” he growled as he started walking again.

When he got to the 34th floor he paused, seeing a box on the landing.  Slowly he walked up to it and opened it.  “What the,” he mumbled as he pulled the various items out.  He looked over the water bottle first noting that it was sealed still and slightly chilled.  He set it down and kept digging.  Next he found an energy bar and a still in package uniform from the black market…a delivery uniform.  Lastly there was an envelope addressed to Iason Mink.

Looking over the items he was confused.  It was almost like they had been left here just for him.  Taking a quick break he downed the water and energy bar.  He wasn’t exactly sure when he had last eaten so having something in his stomach would be nice.

After a minute he pulled the uniform out and quickly changed.  He was surprised to realize it was a perfect fit.  “This is getting annoying,” Riki mumbled as he picked up the envelope.  He continued up the stairs to the 36th floor.

Silently he walked into the hallways and took a deep breath of the scent.  He felt tears collect in his eyes as he leaned on the wall to support himself.  His will was in shatters.  He just wanted his Blondie to hold him again and tell him everything was okay.

“Okay idiot, you need to do this,” he whispered as he stood straight.  Taking a final deep breath he started down the hall again and set off the chime for the pent house, pulling the hat down.

The door opened after a minute revealing Cal.  “Can I help you?”

Riki hesitated.  “I have a delivery from Katze for Lord Mink,” he said, changing his tone a bit.

Cal paused.  “I will take it.”

“I’m sorry sir, but I’ve been ordered that I have to hand it directly to Lord Mink,” Riki said quickly.  “If you could please direct me to him, I have other things I need to do this evening.”

He looked down the hall contemplating the risk of getting his Master’s attention.  “My Master has retired for the night.”

“In that case, can you please show me to his office?  I was given a combination for his vault to add it into,” Riki said, just trying to get in the door.

Cal took a moment.  “I will have to check with Sir Katze.  Please come in and take a seat while I call him,” he said as he took a step back to let the courier in.

Riki nodded as he stepped into the penthouse acting like he had never been in before.  “Lot of décor,” Riki said as he looked around.

The young furniture walked towards the living room.  “This way please,” he whispered.

“Sorry kid,” Riki said as he stepped behind the young man.  He brought his hand down to the side of Cal’s neck, knocking him out.  Carefully he caught the teen and carried him to the couch.  “I’m sorry Cal, I just can’t have you calling anyone,” he whispered as he adjusted him on the couch.

Quickly he ran over to the door and activated the locks on the door.  He pulled the hat off and tossed it on the table.  Happiness filled him as he looked around the penthouse.  Nothing had changed.  It looked like it did the day before he left.

…

*Flash back*

Riki sat quietly against the window that blocked him from his desired spot on the balcony.  This was his punishment for talking back to Iason.  Now he could only go outside three times; once in the morning, at lunch, and in the evening for a maximum of ten minutes and he had to have someone with him.

He sighed as he closed his eyes.  He wanted to be outside…he wanted his little bit of freedom back.

“Riki,” Iason called out as he entered the living room. 

Riki shook his head, keeping his eyes closed.  “Leave me alone, Iason,” he mumbled as he pressed closer to the window.

Quietly Iason walked across the room and set his hand on his loves head.  “Riki, look at me.”

Slowly Riki looked up, glaring at the Blondie.  “What?”

“If you would behave, I wouldn’t need to punish you.  I wish that you really would just listen sometimes,” Iason said as he tugged on the black strands. 

Riki shook his head trying to break free.  “I just want to go outside, is that so much to ask?  I was free before…I just want that back,” he whispered.  “Iason please,” he added.

Quietly Iason stared at the other, letting his hand fall to his side.  “Come, Riki,” Iason said as he walked over to the couch and sat.  “Cal, wine.  And a glass of bourbon,” he said as he glanced over at his love.

Cal nodded quickly.  “Yes Master,” he said as he ran into the kitchen to get the items.

Slowly Riki stood and walked over to Iason.  When the Blondie didn’t say anything, he sat down half on the larger male and half on the couch.  He paused when he felt the blonds left arm wrap around him and press his head to the others chest.

“I don’t like seeing you upset, Riki.  But I need you to meet me halfway,” he whispered.

Riki closed his eyes.  “I just want to go outside.  I don’t ask you for anything else.”

“Cigarettes.”

“Oh come on.  That’s the one thing I ever buy and you still restrict them,” Riki snapped.

Iason smiled as he kissed his loves head.  “I want you to live, my dear.  You have a human body…I want you to be with me as long as possible.  Is that too much to ask for?”

Riki blushed as he lowered his head. 

“Master,” Cal said as he walked up with the two glasses.

“Thank you Cal,” Iason said as he took his drink.  “Start on dinner.”

Cal nodded as he set the other glass on the table.  “Yes Master,” he said happily.

Carefully Riki pealed from the other and reached for his drink.  He took a swig and set it back down.  “That hit the spot,” he mumbled.  “Can’t you just let me work with Katze again?  You know that he has my back and won’t let me get too far.”

“I’ll think about it,” Iason said softly.

Riki stood and turned to the Blondie.  “That’s all you ever say.  ‘I’ll think about it’.  Why don’t you just fucking say ‘No’ already?  I know that’s going to be your answer…that or you will never actually get back to me with one,” Riki exclaimed as he stomped his foot.  “You want me to live, but you don’t fucking care if I’m happy!  You just want a warm body to fuck!”

Iason stared at the mongrel with surprised eyes.  Was that all his love thought of him?  “Riki,” he growled warningly.

“No!  I’m tired of this,” Riki yelled as he turned away and started pacing in the living room.  “I’m not your slave; I don’t care what you think!  If you want to keep treating me like one…then you better not let me back outside.  Cuz the moment I get out there, I’ll just stand on the fucking ledge and-“ he froze after turning around and seeing the murderous look in the Blondie’s eyes.

Slowly Iason stood and took the single step to Riki.  “You will _never_ speak that way again, Riki.  You may express your feelings however you wish and you will be punished as such, but if you _ever_ say anything about ending your life again, you will never be allowed anything you wish,” Iason said firmly as he grabbed the mongrel’s hair.  “Is that clear?”

Tears welled in Riki’s eyes.  He had never seen the other so pissed off before.  Of course he would never actually jump, but he didn’t expect the Blondie to have such a reaction to him pointing out the option.  “Fine,” he whispered.

Leaning his head, he captured the others lips.  “Good,” he whispered as he released the captured hair.  He returned to his seat and closed his eyes.

Riki rubbed his eyes.  “I’m going to take a nap,” he said as he started down the hall.

Iason sat for a minute, processing all of his options.  He never thought he would hear his love mention such a horrible thing.  Was being with him really that much of a burden for his pet?  He provided more for him here than he got on the streets of Ceres but it still didn’t seem like enough. 

People in Ceres were lucky to have a place to live.  Requests were always coming across his desk for the dumping of random things in Ceres which he knew they would later use to make housing.  And he had heard from Riki time and time again how they were lucky to get an actual meal half the size of what they ate for a snack.

He could even remember Riki challenging the water that he was given when he first got here.  He thought there was something in it or wrong with it because it was so clear.  Granted the young man now would only drink water out of bottles due to the time he was given a very strong aphrodisiac at a pet showing, but still the fact that mongrels drank dirty water was still interesting. 

Was that really it?  Maybe if he just had the quality of life that he was giving his pet dropped a few pegs to remind him of Ceres that would be enough.

“No,” Iason said as he opened his eyes.  Remembering back, he thought about how his love acted after returning from Ceres after the 18 month break he had let him go on.  He was angry at first, but then he started to appreciate everything the Blondie did for him…the food, the shelter, protection.

Slowly he stood, looking at the unfinished drink sitting next to his wine glass.  Finally he started down the hall off to the shared bedroom.  He opened the door and smiled, seeing his lover lying under the blankets.

“Riki,” Iason called out from the door way to see if his love was awake.

“Go away,” he mumbled as he curled closer into the blankets. 

Iason quietly walked over to the bed and sat on the edge.  He rubbed his loves arm and waited.  “In a week I’m going off world for a few days.  My thought was that you would be going with me and we could have a short vacation there,” he explained as he stilled his hand on Riki’s shoulder.  “If you would rather, I will allow you three days.”

He opened his eyes and looked at the blond, tilting his head.  “Three days?  What, without you here?”

He smiled softly.  “No my love, Cal is going with me and I won’t leave you unsupervised in the penthouse.  I will though let you have three days to be on your own.  You can stay at the apartment in Apatia so you are closer to Katze’s base, along with to Ceres,” he whispered.

Riki shot up.  “Serious?”

Iason nodded.  “You can choose which you want to do.  I don’t want you to feel trapped or like you need to harm yourself,” he whispered as he smiled softly.

Riki looked down at the blanket as he smiled.  “Thanks, Iason,” he whispered.  “Though a vacation with you is nice, I would really like to go see my gang.”

Quietly he reached forward and pulled his love into his arms.  “You have a week to get ready then.  But I warn you, you will behave during this week, pet.  If I have to reprimand you, you will be with my, and will be chained.”

He gulped as he chuckled faintly.  “I promise, Iason.”

Iason laid his cheek on his loves hair.  “If you behave up to the end of tomorrow, I will re instate your balcony privileges.  And if you return to me with no issues after your three days, I will consider you being able to work with Katze more.”

“Thanks, Iason,” Riki whispered.  “Hey, how about we have a little fun time when you return?  We can meet up in Apatia and stay there for a few days, away from the world,” Riki said as he relaxed in the strong arms. 

“We’ll see, pet,” Iason whispered.  “I love you, Riki.”

“Love you too,” Riki said softly.


	2. Chapter 2

*Real Time*

Riki returned to check on Cal one more time, making sure that he was breathing fine.  He didn’t want to hurt the little guy, but he needed him out of the way for a bit.  As he looked around again, he noticed that the lock on the slider was broken which resulted in the door not being able to open at all.

Turning he started down the hall towards his loves bedroom.  He activated the chime to call the Master of the house.  When he received no response he tried again.

Giving up he activated the door to have it open for him.  Slowly he stepped into the darkness and looked around as the lights turned on a slight glow when they sensed his movement.  He stopped when he saw his love lying against the bed.  “Iason,” he called.

No reply.

He walked over to the bed noticing that the blankets were still tossed around as if he had just gotten up for the morning.  “Hey Iason,” Riki said as he looked at the Blondie.  He waited for a minute, realizing by the non-response that he had shut down.

With a sigh he sat on the floor.  “All that and you aren’t even freaking awake,” he mumbled as he removed the delivery shirt.  “Question is are you just rebooting or are you out,” he asked as he ran his fingers through the long blond hair.

After a few minutes he leaned against the Blondie.  “Damn it, Iason.  I need you to be awake, not out cold,” he whispered, closing his eyes.

A few hours later he opened his eyes and looked around the room.  The lights were off, more than likely the automatic timer Iason has set long ago triggering.  Slowly he stood and walked into the bathroom and turned on the light.

He stumbled over to the toilet to relieve himself, the bottle of water he chugged clearing his system.  With a deep breath he fixed himself and walked towards the sink.  He stopped at the mirror and his eyes went wide as the reflection in the mirror shocked him.  Now he understood what Raoul meant…he looked nothing like he once did. 

He ran his slender fingers through his brown hair, tugging on it.  “Damn it,” he whispered as he tried to look at the roots.  “I don’t remember drinking enough to forget something like this,” Riki whispered as he stepped back.  Even his body looked different; his body was less toned.  His body kind of reminded him of a pet’s form.

Instantly he paused when he heard the chime.  _“Master,”_ Cal’s frantic voice called over the speaker.  _“I’m sorry for the intrusion,”_ he said as he forced the door open.

Riki quickly turned off the bathroom light and squatted next to the door frame as Cal entered the room.

Slowly Cal looked around.  He noticed Iason leaning on the bed, but it was a scene he had seen almost every time he came in to check on his master.  He looked around the room and sighed.  No one was there.  Quietly he turned and walked out of the room, letting the door close almost all the way.

Riki took a deep breath as he leaned on the wall.  He froze when he heard voices from outside of the room.

“Master has shut down,” Cal said quickly.

“And was there anyone else in the room?”

 _‘Fuck, its Raoul,’_ he thought as he closed his eyes.

“I didn’t see any indication that there was anyone else in the apartment, sir.”

There was silence for a few minutes.  “Yet the door was locked.”

Riki leaned his head back.  He had locked it because he didn’t want Raoul in the damn apartment, tracking him down.

“If I may, Master has set a lot of security settings since everything that has happened.  I believe he has set the lock to a timer to avoid the risk of himself leaving the penthouse while not fully awake,” Cal quickly said.  “I have seen Master wonder around the apartment as if in a daze, and reported this to My Lady.”

“Fine,” Raoul mumbled.  “When Iason wakes, have him contact me immediately.”

“Yes my lord,” Cal said as the door opened.

Riki let out a deep breath when he heard the secure sound of the door whooshing shut.  But the better question now became why Cal protected him.  There was no way he could-

“Who are you,” Cal asked.

He looked up quickly then flung to the side, his arm hitting a random marble column in the bathroom.  “Shit,” he whispered.

Cal stood there acting strong but he knew the kid was actually terrified.  “I asked who you are.  And why are you in my Master’s room?”

He was about to open his mouth when he noticed the laser knife that Cal clenched in his hand.  Slowly he raised his hands so they were above his head.  “I’m not here to hurt anyone.  I just need to talk to Iason,” Riki said quickly.  “I’m sorry I knocked you out, kid.” 

The furniture stood there quietly.  “You didn’t answer who you are.”

“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me,” Riki whispered.

Cal looked down.  “Sir Am said…there is someone running around that claims to be…” he looked up as tears collect in his eyes.  “Please, I don’t want Iason to be hurt anymore,” he cried.

Slowly Riki lowered his arms.  “I don’t want to hurt him, Cal, I promise.  I swear I’m Riki and just need to find a way to provide it.”

“Sir Am said your DNA didn’t match,” Cal whispered.

“Yeah, he said that ta me too.  But I don’t get it…Cal, how has it been a year?  I swear I only just saw Iason off at the space port a few days ago.  I should still have his damn finger impressions on my hip,” he whispered. 

Slowly Cal looked over at Iason who was still out cold behind him.  “Come on,” Cal said as he walked out of the room.

Carefully Riki stood and followed the younger male.  “Hey, you’re limping.  I didn’t hit you that hard, did I,” he asked as he caught up to the other.

“No,” Cal said as he sat down on the couch in the corner of the living room.  “After the incident, Master struck me and I broke a bone in my leg.  It didn’t heal right,” he said softly.  “I’m scared to point it out…I don’t want him to replace me,” he added.

Riki nodded as he sat across from him.  “I’m sorry.”  He paused as he looked around the room.  “Why are you willing to give me a chance?”

He blushed and quickly lowered his head.  “The port when Master was leaving.  You weren’t supposed to be there, and the logs don’t show that you were.  But I saw him saying his goodbyes to you.”

His eyes went wide before he sighed.  “So Iason being a pervert and molesting me may actually help me out,” he mumbled.

Cal raised his head slightly.  “I know what Master used to do.  No one would willingly want to return to a life like that.  I believe that you have to be Master Riki even though you don’t look like him, because it can only be emotion that is bringing you back to him.”

Riki quickly averted his eyes.  Yeah, the need to have Iason hold him and tell him everything was okay was there.  But there was also the cry in his heart that told him he needed his domineering Blondie back in control of him.  “Cal, I don’t know what happened.  I remember sitting in the apartment in Apatia, Iason walked up to me and kissed me.  But that had to have been a dream, because I woke up in Ceres in a hotel room…I think.  I don’t actually know where I was, I just knew I had to get back here before he killed me.”

“Are you hungry,” Cal asked as he stood.  “I can make some snacks.”

He shook his head.  “I’m fine.  If you are though, I can follow.”

Cal looked away.  He was hoping that he would be able to buy some time before having to say this.  “When Master and I came back to Amoi, we went straight to Apatia.  You were there waiting for him…Katze had sent you back because we were approaching Amoi.  For two days, neither of you came out of the bedroom.”  He paused as he turned to Riki.  “But Master got a call from Jupiter.  He went to his office to take the call, and you came out to smoke.  When Master went out to join you, I heard him scream your name.  I turned just as you…as you fell,” he said, choking out the last part.

Riki hung his head.  Why would he do that?  He told Iason that he would never jump but then he…why?  What happened that was so horrible that he would need to end his life.  Better yet, “How am I alive now then,” he whispered.

“I saw your body.  Master rushed down and I followed.  After you were examined to see if there was anything that could be done, Master ordered that you be cremated.  He watched….”

Slowly Riki stood his legs wobbly under his body.  “Cal, this can’t be my body, but it’s my mind,” he whispered.  “How is that possible?”

Cal shook his head.  “Master Riki, do you remember three weeks before when Master reprimanded you?”

He stared at Cal.  Three weeks before?  Wait, no, he did remember.  “Iason asked if I loved him while we were having sex and I said no,” he whispered.  “I tried to tell him it was just a bad time for him to ask me a question like that, that it was just my response to how he was working my body, but he still punished me.  You had to help me walk for a few days,” he mumbled.

The younger nodded.  “Do you recall what Sir Am said to Master when you tried to walk to the balcony, and refused assistance because he was there?”

“Something about giving me a new body…but Iason said that he enjoyed my human body,” he replied.  “But Raoul couldn’t have…he had no idea who I was and is trying to keep me away from Iason.”

“I don’t know, but it would make sense.  Maybe this process was something that was done without his knowing,” Cal whispered as he sat back down.  “Master would be so happy to have you back though,” he added.

Riki sighed as he plopped down.  “This all makes my head hurt.  For now…I just need to find out if Iason will accept me like this.  If he won’t…then there’s no real reason to rack my brain on it.”

“You should rest,” Cal said as he stood.  “Sorry but the only bed made is your pet bed,” he mumbled.

“That’s my luck.  At this point, anything is fine.  I spent last night in a cell so anything is an improvement,” he mumbled as he followed.

Cal smiled as he opened the door leading to the room once reserved for the pet of the house.  “Are you sure I can’t get you anything, Master Riki?”

Riki rubbed Cal’s head and he walked into the room.  “Go sleep, kid.  And stop flipping calling me ‘master’.  That’s Iason, not me,” he said as he walked towards the bed.  “Though, in the morning,” he stressed, “a change of clothes would be nice.”

“Of course,” he whispered as he turned and left.

…

Empty blue eyes flicked open and blinked a few times.  Slowly Iason lifted his head and looked around.  Carefully he stood up and walked to the bathroom, looking in the mirror.  Taking his time he stripped out of the clothes and stepped into the shower.

Once he was done he dressed to return to his office and repeat the same process as always.  Quietly he walked into the hallways and looked around the apartment.  Something was different but he wasn’t sure what.

“Cal,” he called out, waiting for the furniture to come serve him.  He was mildly annoyed when no one answered his call.  “Cal,” he called louder.  Again he received no response.

Growling he stomped over to his furniture’s room.  He forced the door open and was about to yell when he noticed the bed was still made and the young man was not in it.  Turning, he looked around the room.  There was no indication that the human was even in his penthouse.

Shaking his head, he walked over to the terminal in the living room.  Tapping the screen he pulled up the data for where his furniture was currently located.

His eyes narrowed when he realized he was in the pet’s room.  Rage built up when he realized that his furniture was currently defiling his beloveds’ room.

Anger flooded through his veins as he walked down the hall to the room.  The door opened for him and he stilled noticing two bodies lying in his Riki’s bed, curled against one another.

“Cal,” he growled, causing the young man to wake up and jump from the bed.

“Master,” Cal whispered as he sunk back a bit.

“Who is that,” he demanded.

Cal tried to swallow the lump in his throat but failed.  “Master, I…”

Instantly Iason launched forward and gripped Cal by the throat.  “You are dead,” he whispered.

Tears poured from the light brown eyes as he tried to breathe but failed.  “Mas..ter….”

Iason watched out of the corner of his eye as the other person sat up, rubbing his eyes. 

“What’s going on,” Riki asked as he blinked a few times.  “Cal!  What are you doing,” he yelled.

Iason tossed Cal across the room as if he was a ragdoll.  His eyes focused on the unknown figure that was desecrating his beloved’s bed.  “Who are you and why should I not kill you where you sit?”

Riki watched in horror as Cal hit the wall.  When he saw the kids’ chest raise he took a deep breath, glad that he was still alive.  He looked up at Iason with emotion filled eyes as he carefully stood.  “Iason,” he whispered. 

Not hesitating, Iason reach out and struck the unknown teen across the face, causing him to black out.

…

Riki rolled his head slightly, trying to clear the fog from his mind.  He felt like he was in a daze after being hit by a truck.

_“Please Iason, allow me to eliminate this intruder.”_

That voice…he knew that voice.  That tone too, it could only have been Raoul.  But…wait…did he say Iason?

“ _In time you may, Raoul.  I wish to know why he believed it wise to enter my home without permission first.”_

Iason!  His heart and brain started screaming inside of him to look at his…wait, look?  Slowly he opened and closed his eyes but still wasn’t able to see anything.  Had he actually let Raoul do something to him? 

Panic took over his body.  He started to breathe harder, just to realize that there was something in his mouth.  He tried to move his hands to his face to figure out what was going on but stopped when he realized his hands were bound by chains.

_“It seems he is awake.”_

Riki stayed still as he tried to calm his racing heartbeat.  Okay, all he had to do was say something that would make the other remember him.  Well that and actually be able to speak.

He froze when he felt a hand…a glove run across the side of his face and pulled the mask off.  Quickly he squinted to stop the blinding light above him.  But now he was finally able to look around and realized he was still in the bedroom where many horrible acts had been done to his body.

“Your name,” Iason said firmly.

Slowly Riki let his eyes rake up Iason’s body until he was looking in the fierce blue eyes.  At that moment he was glad he still had the gag in his mouth, because the words that would have come out would have likely got him hit again.  Instead he just shook his head slightly.

A faint smile graced Iason’s face as he turned to his friend.  “Raoul, if you would, I would like to start on my own.”

Raoul glared at the mongrel but nodded.  “Of course; if you need me, I will be checking on your furniture’s care,” he said as he quietly exited the room.

Iason silently walked around the room as his mind still processed what Raoul had told him of this intruder.

Riki lay staring up at his Blondie.  He watched as he walked over to the closet and stepped inside. 

Quietly Iason traced his fingers over the unworn clothing that decorated his beloved’s closet.  Time after time he would buy things for Riki but he never wore any of them.  Many still had the tags on them.

Iason turned and glanced as his prisoner.  This young man claimed to be his lover which didn't completely make sense.  He saw his love fall from the 13th floor onto the street below.

Could this really be his beloved?  It wasn’t logical for such a thing to be possible.  Though he did remember his friend telling him about something that could make his Riki become immortal like them.

But then at the same time he watched as Riki's body was burned.  He personally spread the ashes across the water where they had spent a few weeks relaxing away from it all…where their relationship had been taken to a different level.

There was no way that this could be his pet. 

Turning he returned to the room, dawning his icy glare.

Riki sunk back a bit in the pillow.  He tried to pull on the chains wishing they would break but still had no luck.  He wanted to look away from the glare but wasn't able to.  After two days of hell he was finally able to look into the blue eyes again.

"What is your intent,” he asked after pulling the bag from Riki’s mouth.

Riki swallowed the lump in his throat.  "You," he stated bravely.

"Interesting," Iason said as he walked over to the table.  He ran his hand over the various items that he had laid out after Raoul filled him in with the events from the day before.  After a moment he picked up a syringe and twirled it in his hand.  "Do you know what this is?"

Riki nodded slowly.  "Raoul's version of poison," he said softly.

"Correct," he said as he pulled the cap off.  "It works fairly well too.  One of his first test subjects was someone I cared about.  I wish that I would have never needed to eliminate him, after all he was fairly smart and obedient until the end," Iason said as he pushed on the plunger just a tad.

Someone he cared about...Wait... "Darryl," he gasped.  Tears welled in his eyes as he thought back to his first friend in Eos.  He lowered his head and closed his eyes, not wanting to look at Iason.  "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Iason halted for a moment.  This person was able to put together who it was with such little information.  "I can administer this to you and watch you suffer for the next hour.  Raoul was kind enough to provide me with adrenaline which will keep you from falling asleep.  However, if you tell me your reasons for pretending to be my pet then I may let your death be swift."

"Please, just kill me," he whispered.

"Excuse me?"

Slowly he raised his head to look at the Blondie.  "Just kill me, Iason.  I know there's no way I can tell you that I'm Riki.  At this point the only thing I have waiting for me is a bottle of stout that I can hope will end my life for me.  So please, just do it," he cried.  "I love you too much to do this to you and me," he said as tears dripped down his face.

He narrowed his eyes as he walked up to the mongrel.  He wanted to believe that this was his Riki but in the end there was no way that he could be.  Thinking for a moment, he reached behind himself and grabbed the shot of adrenaline and prepped it. 

"If you turn out to be my Riki, I will follow you soon," he said as he pushed the needle into the tanned arm. 

Riki closed his eyes as he laid back.  He could already feel the drug speeding his heart up and making him feel like he could run all those stairs again.  He winced when he felt the second needle press into his skin.

"Goodbye," he whispered as he began pushing the plunger.

 _"Iason!"_ a female voice called out causing the lights to flicker.

Both froze and looked around the room.  Iason was surprised not only to hear the voice of Lady Jupiter but also that the mongrel responded to it also.  He removed the needle and stood straight.  "Yes my lady," Iason said as he pressed the call button on his communicator. 

_"My dear son, please do not destroy my creation."_

Iason froze.  "Creation?"

 _"A data slate arrived for you last night, delivered by your guest.  Please release his bindings and review the content of it."_ Shortly after she spoke, the call disconnected.

Riki closed his eyes trying to breathe as best he could.  His heart was racing and body was burning. 

Iason glared at the mongrel as he placed the syringe on the table.  Without a word he pressed the release command on the bed and walked out of the room, locking the door behind him.

Carefully Riki sat up as he kept taking deep breaths.

...

Riki sat on the edge of the bed as he tried to breathe again.  Finally after an hour the effects of the adrenaline were starting to wear off.  Good thing it wasn’t the aphrodisiac that he had been given a long time ago, that hell had lasted all freaking night.

After a bit the door opened revealing the calm elite as he walked into the room.  He stared at Riki as his mind continued to process the content he had just read.

"Should give me adrenaline instead of aphrodisiacs," Riki mumbled as he slowly looked up at the Blondie.  "Iason....I-"

He took the few steps to the pet bed and glared at the mongrel.  "What do you remember," he asked as he reached forward to unlock the chain securing the collar to the bed.

Riki closed his eyes for a moment as he thought.  "You kissed me...and molested me a bit on the couch," he said as he blushed.  "And after that…nothing; I woke up in Ceres."

Iason slowly leaned down and kissed the others lips causing Riki to open his eyes abruptly.  "We spent three days together in Apatia," he whispered as he sat next to the mongrel.

"That's what Cal said...how is he by the way?"

"Fine.  Raoul has taken him and he should return soon," Iason said as he pulled Riki's head to his chest.

Riki nodded as he closed his eyes.  "This isn't a dream, is it?  You are really holding me, right?"

Iason pulled the teen onto his lap contemplating how to explain this to him.  The data pad explained everything to him about how various bodily samples had been taken from Riki during his examination before he went to Ceres.  The original reason they had been collected was to have a base to compare to when he returned to ensure that no bugs returned with him that could harm the pets.

When Riki was not able to return, under Jupiter’s order, the samples were used to create a new body based on how pets were made.  However something went wrong and they had to change plans.  Instead Jupiter took the samples and made the new body as she would one of her own children.

When the body was the correct size, it was released from the artificial womb.  After a quick scan of his memories, they were glad to see that the correct mentality was present.  He was left in a monitoring room in Midas where no one knew he was.  After a few days though he woke up and began wondering around.

Carefully he wrapped his arms around the younger, holding him tighter.  “Yes Riki, this isn’t a dream.  You are mine again.”

After a quick nod he moved his head to lay it on Iason’s shoulder.  “What happened to me, Iason?”

“Jupiter realized that for my sake I needed you by my side, so she-“

“Not what I mean,” he said as he shook his head.  “Sorry…I can read all that later on.  I want to know what happened that I can’t remember,” he said as he slowly pulled away to look the blond in the eyes.  “Why did I die?”

Iason angled his head to look down at the other.  “I don’t know why you died, my pet.  You were smiling and laughing when I left the room.  After my call I went to join you on the balcony and walked out just as you let go.”

He looked away slowly.  Nothing came to mind as to why he would want to kill himself.  “I didn’t say anything?”

Slowly he ran his fingers through the brown hair.  “You were going out for a smoke,” he said softly.  “Riki, I don’t want you to think about it anymore though.  Let what happened in the past stay there.”

Taking a deep breath, he pushed free and stood up.  Nothing made sense to him anymore.  There was nothing he could think of that would make him want to do anything so serious and irreversible.  “Do you mind,” he asked as he laced a finger around the collar.

“You are a new pet in Tanagura, Riki.”

He stopped and stared at the Blondie.  “You’re joking right?  What the fuck Iason!  I’ve lived here for fucking ever,” he yelled as he tugged on the collar trying to force it off.  “Stupid ass laws.”

Iason smiled as he stood and towered over the younger again.  “You look so young though.  People will think I got a new pet,” he said as he ran his right hand along the collar, activating the lock.  He grabbed it and pulled it free of Riki’s neck.  “Better?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Riki mumbled as he walked towards the door.  “I need some air,” he said as he stopped at the now open door.  “Wait, the lock to the patio is broken.”

Iason sighed as he tossed the collar on the bed than walked up and wrapped his right arm around Riki’s waist.  “I tried jumping off the ledge to join you,” he whispered.

“What the hell,” Riki said as he turned his head to his lover.  “The fuck Iason.”

He closed his blue eyes slowly.  “I needed you, Riki.”

Riki sighed as he led the blond forward.  “I need you too, jerk,” he mumbled.  “Hey, since we can’t go out there, why don’t we go down to Midas?  We can go get something to eat while Cal is resting.  Bring the kid a treat too for him getting hurt.”

“Fine,” Iason said after a moment.

“Oh by the way,” he said as he directed the blond towards the master bedroom.  “Cal is limping.  Did you…”

“Yes, I requested Raoul place him in a healing pod.  I noticed some time ago,” Iason said as they entered the room.  They stopped and he stared at the bed quietly. 

Riki pulled away again and walked towards the bed.  “Why does it look like I was the last one to sleep in this damn bed,” he asked as he plopped down on the crumbled blankets. 

Silently Iason closed his eyes, remembering the day they left.  “You were the last one to sleep, if you recall.  You kept asking for five more minutes, and when you finally woke up Cal didn’t have time to make the bed.”

He lay back as he stared at the ceiling.  “Yeah, I had to take a quick shower.  Which was pointless since you decided to work me over on a crate at the port,” he mumbled. “I went to the apartment from there, showered, then went and found my gang.”

Iason hesitated for a moment.  He tapped a few commands of on wrist com and waited for the connection to open. 

 _“Yes my Lord_ ,” the voice that answered said quickly.

“Release the prisoners under my watch,” he said firmly.  “Have them returned to the border.”

 _“As you order, sir,”_ the voice said as the call disconnected by Iason.

Riki rose a brow as he propped himself up on his elbows.  “What did I remind you of?”

Silently Iason walked over to the closet to select clothes for the other to wear.  “I wanted to know what may have caused you to jump, so I had the Midas Police track down your friends.”

“You what,” Riki yelled as he jumped up to follow Iason into the closet.  “You sent those ass holes after my gang?!”

After careful selection he removed two pieces of clothing and turned to his love.  “Yes, I did.  They were located and brought to me.  I held them for questioning as none of them gave me the information I wanted.”

He hit his head on the wall.  “Fucking kidding me, right?”

After a second he held the clothes out to Riki.  “Go shower, my dear.  Then we can go out.”

“Call your crony back and tell him not to release my gang yet then!  I want to see them,” he said as he took the clothes.

Iason smiled as he laced his fingers in Riki’s hair, pulling him into a kiss.  “I will let you see them later,” he whispered.  “I need my time with you than I will share you.”

Slightly dazed, Riki could do nothing but nod.  Slowly he turned and walked towards the bathroom to get cleaned up.

…

Quietly Iason sat on the couch, swirling his glass of wine.  It had been some time since he last tasted the drink.  It never really affected him, but it had a very pleasurable taste to him.

It was a about half an hour later when he heard the door open which meant Riki was finally ready to go.  He himself had changed into a little more formal of an outfit than what he would wear to just go to his office or greet other blondes.

“Iason, I have a problem,” Riki said as he walked towards the living room.

“What is it,” he asked as he raised his head to look at the other.  He paused when he figured it out for himself.

Riki took a deep breath.  “Any suggestions?”

Iason stared quietly at the sight before him.  He now knew that blond hair would never look good on his beloved.  “How did this happen,” he asked as he stood.

“I washed my hair,” he growled as he grabbed the short blond locks.  “This is so fucked up.”

He chuckled as he tugged on the still wet clumps of hair.  “It will be alright, Riki.  We can deal with this later.”

He glared up at the other.  “I’m not going out like this.”

Iason smiled.  “Then your shower will have been wasted again,” he said as he kissed Riki’s lips.  “So you know, Riki, I’m going to ravish you for the coming days to make up for lost time.  After all, I have to train your body to respond the way it once did.”

Staring into the blue eyes, he gulped.  Yeah, that’s what he wanted.  Raped, tortured, abused, humiliated…all things he never wanted to feel again.  “Can we not and say we did?”

“No, pet,” he whispered.  “We can delay it however you have to go out to dinner still.”

“Fine,” he mumbled as he sighed.  “This is going to drive me insane.”

Happily the Blondie wrapped his arm around Riki’s waist as they started for the front door.  They walked over to the elevator which was waiting for them.

As they travel down, doth were surprised when the doors opened to reveal Raoul Am waiting a few floors below.

“Raoul,” Iason said quickly.

Raoul looked the two over before he nodded.  “Good evening, Iason,” he said as he stepped into the elevator.  “Interesting color scheme today,” he added as he looked Riki’s body over.

“It appears that the color of Riki’s hair was not permanent.  The notes I was given do state that they attempted to color his hair, but didn’t say what it started as,” Iason said as he played with the hair.  “He does not like it, but I don’t mind it.”

Riki rolled his eyes.  “Blond doesn’t suit me.  Brown doesn’t either.”

Iason smiled as he kissed the blond locks.  “On a different note, how is my furniture?”

The mongrel narrowed his eyes at the way he referred to Cal.  Yeah he knew it was because he was talking to another jerk, but could still show the kid some respect sense he was the one that sent him flying. 

“He’s fine, and should be able to return to you tonight instead.  A bit more rest will be needed though,” Raoul explained.  He stared at Riki not sure what to make of the decision to keep him.  Even after reviewing the data pad with Iason, he still had issues believing that this was the same mongrel.

“What,” Riki said when he got annoyed with Raoul staring at him.  “Something on my face or just see something you like?”

Iason sighed as he squeezed his loves side a bit.  “Behave, Riki.”

When the elevator finally stopped, Riki was more than happy to pull from Iason and walkout.  The sad part was that Raoul probably saved him from being molested in the elevator.

“Excuse him, Raoul.  He is still processing everything,” Iason said as they both stepped out.

Slowly Raoul watched Riki as he walked through the plaza.  “I’m still not convinced, Iason,” he said firmly.  “I understand it was by Lady Jupiter’s wish, but I am not able to accept that he is your mongrel.”

Iason was about to speak when he noticed two security guards walking up to his pet.  It appeared that the two men did not notice him or Raoul as they were walking at a slow pace behind the other.

“Not you again, didn’t you learn your lesson already,” one of them mumbled.

Riki grinned.  “Hello ass hole,” he said as he reached forward and punched one in the gut.  Even better, it was the one that used a Taser on him days ago.  “That’s for the other day,” he added as the man fell to the ground.

Iason watched as the other was about to pull out a weapon to subdue his pet and deiced to step forward.  “Riki,” he called out causing both the guard and mongrel to turn to him.  “Have you had your fun now?”

He smiled at the amused look on Iason’s face.  “I think so.  If not I can always come back and kick this one’s ass,” he replied as he walked over to Iason.

The blond nodded once as he held his hand out for Riki to take.

The guard watched in horror as the mongrel placed his hand in the offered hand of the head of the Tanagura Syndicate.  “Lord Mink,” he stuttered, quickly standing at attention while his friend moaned in pain.

Iason glanced as the man as he pulled his beloved into his arm again and began walking.  “Raoul, if you will excuse us,” he said as they started towards the gates.

Raoul stood there silently.  Alright, even if he didn’t want to admit it, that was a very Riki like thing to do.

…

The room was dark.  The lights had been set to a low level so they gave off a soft, almost enchanting glow.

Iason sat on the edge of the freshly made bed watching while Riki stripped to just his boxers.  A faint smile graced his face as he raked his eyes up and down his loves body.  “Turn,” he ordered.

Slowly Riki turned so his back was to the bed.  He had promised Iason while they were out that when they returned home, he would be allowed to look over the body to verify that there was nothing wrong.  “So?”

“As expected of Jupiter’s creation,” Iason said as he removed his gloves.  “Lay on the bed.”

Riki turned and smiled.  “How about something different,” he said as he crawled onto the Blondie’s lap so he was straddling the others powerful legs.  “I’m so used to you taking care of me, how about I take care of you,” he asked as he started kissing Iason’s throat.

Slowly he closed his eyes and relaxed in the touches of his pet as the fingers tapped on different places as the former mongrel assaulted his throat.  “Riki,” he whispered.

He smiled as he leaned back a bit.  “Iason, don’t get me wrong.  I’ve missed you deeply over what feels like the last few days,” he whispered as he played with the blond locks.  “But this body…When you took me the first time I wasn’t exactly a virgin,” he mumbled.

“Your point,” Iason spat, not wanting to think of previous partners his love had between the sheets.

“I love you, I really do.  But my point is that I’m not sure how my ass will like you the first time,” he said as he looked into the icy blue eyes.  “Don’t get me wrong, I _really_ want you in me.  But at the same time I would like to be able to walk tomorrow.”

Slowly Iason mixed his fingers in with the others blond hair.  “What is it you are wanting, pet?”

Riki sighed at the old nickname.  “Could you just not push me too hard?  I’m not sure how this body is going to hold up to your assault yet.  I’ll take care of you, I promise, but just please don’t force me,” he whispered.

A hum escaped Iason as he processed the request.  After a few moments he secured his hold on Riki and stood up.  Turning, he tossed the other on the bed.

“What the hell,” Riki cursed as he tried to sit up.

“I will not penetrate you, Riki.  Not tonight anyways.  However I will have my way with you,” he said as he crawled onto the bed.

Riki swallowed the lump in his throat.  This may not end very well for him, if the other is as aroused as he looks.

Slowly Iason ran his fingers down Riki’s chest and began playing with an exposed nub.  First he bit down gently then harder, causing his submissive to shudder. 

Oh yeah, he was in for a long fucking night.  But he did have one fail safe; the stupid cursed D Type pet ring was nowhere to be seen. 

Suddenly he forced his eyes closed as he took in a sharp breath.  “Ah,” he gasped.

“Don’t zone out, pet,” Iason said as he squeezed the others erection again, causing another yelp.  “I’m not able to see how your body reacts if you aren’t paying attention.”

Riki took a few deep breaths before looking at the blond.  “Sorry sexy.”

As a smile appeared on his face, Iason lowered his head to lick the shaft before him.

Slowly he moved his right hand to the long golden locks of his lover and mixed his fingers in with them.  “Fucking hell,” he cried as he pushed his head back further into the pillow.

After a few hours, Iason laid next to his love, pulling the mongrel into his arms.  “My beloved Riki,” he whispered.

Riki sighed as he pushed on Iason’s right shoulder.  He watched as Iason finally gave in and rolled onto his back, releasing him.  Slowly he sat up, adjusted himself on the bed then fixed the blankets.  When he was done, he laid across Iason’s torso, resting his head in the middle of the others chest.  “Better,” he mumbled.

He chuckled as he ran his hand up and down Riki’s back.  “I’m not sure I agree, but I will let you have this one.”

“Hey,” he whispered as he turned his head around to face Iason.  “Do you have to work…today?”

Iason nodded.  “I have to take care of a few things today, yes.  But then I will return to you.”

Blushing Riki closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  “I’m sure you will,” he mumbled.

“Today, Riki,” he said firmly to obtain the attention of the person resting on him.  “Cal will take you to Raoul’s lab while I am out.  I have requested him to set time aside to examine you fully.”  He smiled when he felt Riki growl.  “I want you to behave for him.  If you do I will reward you.”

“Is this a reward I want or you want,” he mumbled as he adjusted a bit.  “I’ll be nice to him if he’s nice to me.”

Iason sighed as he finally pulled Riki into his arms so they could lay side by side-ish.  “You know it doesn’t work like that.  You are expected to be on your best behavior.  I have though asked Raoul to give you room to breathe.”

“Fine,” Riki said as he closed his eyes.  “I need to sleep for a bit.”

Quietly Iason kissed the blond locks.  “I love you, Riki.”

…


	3. Chapter 3

The morning sun shined in the living room as Riki entered the large room.

“Good morning Riki,” Cal said with a slight bow.  “May I get you anything?”

Slowly the mongrel shook his head.  “I’ll wait for Iason,” he replied before covering his mouth to hide a yawn.  “He should be a little bit.”

“Of course.  If you do want anything, I’ll be working on breakfast,” Cal said before returning to the kitchen.

Slowly Riki walked over to the doors leading to the balcony and stared out.  He pressed his head on the glass with his eyes closed.  Slowly his mind was filling with flashes from their time in Apatia.  Iason’s soft touches and tender love…and watching him walk away to take the call with Jupiter….

 “Riki,” Iason called as he walked into the sitting room.  “What’s wrong,” he asked softly, seeing his love staring into space.

Slowly he turned his body slightly and stopped.  “I…I think I remember,” he whispered.

Within seconds Iason was holding the other close.  “I told you not to try and force the memories.”

He shook his head softly.  He turned back to the window, staring at the balcony.  “We were happy.  I just got up to smoke but since there was nowhere to sit, I sat on the edge.  I remember there was a slight breeze, but a gust hit me and I lost my balance.  I fell…and grabbed the rail and called for you.  I saw you but my grip released,” he said as he relaxed in the strong arms.  “It was an accident.”

Iason stood silent as his mind processed the story.  He did remember his love calling his name and that there was a breeze.  So it was all an accident…an accident took his lover away from him.  He gripped the younger tighter.  “Don’t worry, Riki. I don’t want you to think about this anymore.  Your body was built by Jupiter…that means that nothing can hurt you anymore,” he whispered.

Riki closed his eyes as he leaned back.  “Sure,” he mumbled.  “Why am I remembering this now though?”

“I don’t know.  If you wish, I can request Raoul to remove those memories from you,” Iason said as he directed his beloved towards the couch to sit.  Carefully he pulled the other on his lap, cradling him.  “I don’t want you to be in pain.”

He took a deep breath as he curled up on the arms.  “I think I’ll be fine.  How many people can say that they survived a fall that far,” he said as he opened his eyes and smirked.

Iason chuckled, not wanting to make the comment that his love didn’t actually survive it.  “Perhaps you shouldn’t be left in the apartment anymore alone-“

“What! Iason,” he said as he sprung up.  He didn’t need a babysitter, not like he was going to sit on the edge of the balcony ever again.  “I can take care of myself!”

The Blondie narrowed his eyes after being interrupted.  “Allow me to finish, Riki,” he said firmly causing Riki to sink back a bit.  “Perhaps you shouldn’t be left in the apartment anymore alone with just your thoughts.  I was going to suggest seeing if Katze could use a hand, however if you believe it is fine to interrupt people, perhaps I should first train you in manners.”

Riki blushed as he looked away.  “Sorry,” he said quickly.  “I would really like to be able to go out.”

Iason smiled as he kissed his loves head.  His mind was processing different options available to him.  He wanted his lover to be happy with him and not risk any of the emotions he saw a year ago.  And now his pet had the ability to take care of himself in more ways than just his mongrel’s brain solving problems.  With the body Jupiter put him in he could learn to protect himself even better than before.

That wasn’t to say that his mongrel was never able to protect himself.  For sixteen years he had survived in the slums of Ceres.  He just worried about his love.

“I will speak with Katze.  Hear me now Riki, there will be rules and restrictions that if broken will result in you being here again,” Iason said firmly. 

“I know,” he mumbled as he laid his head on Iason’s left shoulder.  “I love you,” he whispered.

Iason smiled.  Carefully he wrapped his arms around his love and held him close.  “I love you too, Riki.”

…

Riki sat in front of Raoul while he waited for the Blondie to actually care he was there.  Iason had requested his fellow Blondie to check the mongrel’s body to make sure that he was healthy.  He also needed to know for Cal who future appointments would need to be scheduled with.

Slowly he turned his head to look back at Cal who stood in a corner behind him.  At least he wasn’t completely alone.  After all the kid had done for him, he would have to find something to reward him with.  Maybe he would ask Katze what he could get the kid that wouldn’t be rejected by the Furniture Code.

“Strip down.”

Riki looked up to see Raoul was standing a few feet in front of him.  “Excuse me?”

He narrowed his eyes.  “I told you to strip.  In order for me to be able to examine you I need your clothing removed.”

Slowly Riki stood as he removed his shirt and pants.  He stood before the Blondie in only his boxers.  “Sorry but everything under here you need Iason’s permission for.”

Raoul rolled his eyes as he started his examination.  After about an hour he had all of the base line information that he needed to create the profile for his medical profile and the furniture’s care portal.  “Furniture,” he said, calling Cal.

Cal ran over and stepped behind Riki.  “Yes my lord?”

“You can dress and take him home,” he said as he walked over to his desk.

“Yes my lord.  Thank you,” he said with a bow.

Riki rolled his eyes and grabbed his pants.  He slipped into them while Cal grabbed and held his shirt.  “So what am I?”

Raoul looked over at the pet.  “Excuse me?”

“What am I?  Am I human, cyborg, what?”

Silently he looked down at the data slate and glanced at the data.  “I haven’t received the results yet.”

Riki nodded as he took the shirt and slipped it on.  “I know you still challenge that I’m the real Riki, you don’t have to pretend.  Would be nice though if when you finally come to the conclusion that I am me that we can act on better terms…for Iason’s sake,” he said as he started towards the door.  “Cal.”

He glanced from Raoul to Riki before running after him.  “Riki, you should really not antagonize Sir Am,” Cal said as they got into the elevator.

Smiling he leaned on the wall.  “Yeah well, I have to have fun with him when I can.  If I can stand toe to toe with him, that will make life better all around.  I mean, you have seen some of the issues he and I have had.  And I normally get the repercussions of it since Iason loves to punish me.”

“I do not believe Master loves to punish you,” Cal said firmly.

Riki shook his head.  “You’ve never seen his smiles when he’s punishing me,” he said firmly.  “Anyways, it will make our relationship stronger if Raoul and I are on the same page.”

Cal sighed as the doors opened to let them out.  “Would you like to eat out, or return to the penthouse for lunch, Master,” Cal asked as they walked past some others.

After a second Riki stopped and turned to Cal.  He stared at him for a minute before blinking.  Iason hadn’t yet activated his new pet ring, or given him one, so he was still restricted to the top floor unless with Cal or Iason.  “Let’s eat out,” he said with a smile.  “And I have a request of you for later.”

The teen bowed slightly as required in public.  He knew someone would comment if he hadn’t.  “Where would you like to eat, Master?”

“You can choose,” he said as they started walking.  “Somewhere quiet would be nice.  So we can avoid formalities.”

Cal smiled but quickly returned to his emotionless façade.  “As you wish.”

After a few minutes they were at a small restaurant just outside of Eos tower in Tanagura.  The décor was plain compared to most establishments however it seemed welcoming.

The two sat in the back, Cal sitting with his back towards the door so no one would see him.  Instead they would see Riki whom most would turn away from anyways.

“Is there anything special you would like?  I would be more than willing to ask the staff to make you something,” Cal said as he looked over the menu.

Riki looked up from the menu and smiled.  “I don’t think they will make what I really want, Cal.  Now pick your food.”

He was about to offer again to ask but decided to just set the menu down.  When the server walked up they both ordered and relaxed when the server walked away. 

“Hey, I do have a favor for you though,” Riki said as he leaned forward.

“What is it, Riki?”

For a moment he contemplated how to ask the question.  “I’ve tried gazers in the past and they did not work for me.  And I doubt with this body that they will work either…but I know that Iason wants my hair back to normal.”

Cal turned his head slightly as he thought.  “You want your black hair back.”

He nodded.  “He’s mentioned more than once to me that he liked my hair color.  And according to the data pad they tried to change my hair color but it wouldn’t take,” he mumbled as he leaned back.  “I think it would be a nice surprise.”

Quietly Cal nodded as he looked at the table, thinking about the options available for coloring of hair.  “I’ll speak with Katze and see what we can find,” he said softly.  “Is there anything else I can request for you?”

“No but I need to learn more of the codes.  Like the rules and shit for you guys,” Riki said as he swirled his water glass.

“Us?  Furniture?”

“Yeah.”

Cal stared at him confused.  “Why?  What do you need to know?”

“Just…can you get me a manual or something?  Something with rules and stuff in it,” he said before taking a drink.

Slowly Cal nodded.  “I have a manual on my terminal.  You are welcome to it any time.”

Riki smiled as the food was set before them.  After a second they started eating, Riki randomly stealing something off Cal’s plate.  He froze though when his phone started to go off in his pants pocket.  Smiling he held it to his ear.  “Yes?”

_“Where are you?  Your appointment is completed with Raoul.”_

“I’ve been kidnapped.  Don’t worry, I kicked their ass and am eating lunch with their money,” he said as he popped a bite of food into his mouth.  “Oh, and I saved Cal too.”

The line was silent for a moment.  _“You are not able to leave Eos, Riki.  No one in Eos would take you from me._ ”

He coughed as he looked at the wall.  “Fine.  Cal and I decided to go get drunk.  But in order to drink, we need to have something in our stomachs.”

Cal dropped his fork, a shock of horror on his face.  “Riki, please…you’re going to get me in trouble,” he squealed.

_“Come home, Riki.  Now.”_

Riki sighed.  “Let us finish our foods, Iason.  I promise we will be back within an hour,” he said softly as he reached for his drink.

Silence again.  _“Fine.  One hour Riki.”_

“See you then,” he said as he pulled the phone away.  “Come on, it was funny right?”

Cal slumped in his seat.  “You’re going to get me decommissioned,” he mumbled.

Riki shook his head as he sipped the drink.  No, he wouldn’t let Iason hurt Cal.  He cared about the kid too much.  “Come on, let’s head back,” he said with a smile after a while.

…

It took roughly thirty minutes for them to return to the pent house.  When the door opened, both froze, seeing Iason waiting in the hallway.

“Hey Iason,” Riki said as he slowly stepped forward and walked towards the blond.

Iason narrowed his eyes.  “In the future, you are not to take Riki outside of Eos without permission.”

Cal lowered his head, sinking his shoulders in a bit.  “I’m sorry Master.”

Turning his head, Riki looked back at the kid.  “It was my idea, Iason.  I harassed Cal until he agreed,” Riki said as he turned back to the other.  “You know I can easily over power him.”

“Enough Riki.  I already know about the conversation in the hallway after leaving Raoul’s office,” Iason said as he pulled his lover into his arms. 

He flinched when Iason made his comment.  Damn it, Iason and his freaking resources.  “Iason please,” he whispered.  “I care about Cal.  Please don’t be mad at him,” he said softly. 

Iason glanced down and blinked.  “Cal, Wine,” he said as he directed Riki to the living room.  “How was your check up with Raoul?”

“Fine,” he mumbled as he jumped on the couch.  “Still doesn’t trust me though.”

Smiling Iason sat next to his lover and waited while the other crawled on his lap.  “It is still rather hard to believe that you have returned form the dead, my love,” he said as he wrapped his arms around Riki’s body.  “Also when you do things like this, sometimes even I question it.”

Riki looked up into the blue eyes.  Yeah he was acting different, even he knew it.  But he just wanted to be with the Blondie that much even though he would never admit it…even though returning to him and fighting so hard had already shown to Iason how much Riki loved him.  “Want me to go back to kicking and screaming every time you touch me?  Cuz I will if you really want that,” Riki mumbled.

“And I will punish you which wouldn’t make for a very good day for you,” Iason retorted as he accepted the wine from Cal.  “On the table is a box.  Bring it to me,” he said as he sipped the wine.

“Yes Master,” Cal said as he bowed and walked towards the table.  Grabbing the small box he brought it to the blonde and stepped back.

Riki raised a brow as the box was held out before him.  “Trying to buy my love,” he asked with a smirk.

Chuckling Iason set his glass down.  “Open it, Riki.”

Sighing Riki pulled on the string of the bow and took the top off.  He paused when he saw what was sitting inside of the box.  A new pet ring…just what he always wanted.  “I’m not that small,” he mumbled, looking at the silver band.

Carefully Iason removed the piece of metal and held it up.  “This isn’t for there,” he said softly.  “I had been thinking of replacing your previous ring with one like this before everything happened.  I wanted to be able to show you that I do actually care about you.”

Riki laid his head on Iason’s shoulder as he held his hand up.  “I know you care about me, Iason.  If I didn’t think you did care then believe me when I say I wouldn’t have come back,” he said as Iason slid the ring onto his finger.  “I could have easily jumped ship off Amoi while you were gone.”

Iason smiled as he moved Riki to sit next to him.  “I would have found you.  You had no way to remove the other ring.”

He signed as he leaned his head back.  That was for sure, not like he would do anything like remove his favorite body part.  “So what now?”

“Hm?”

Slowly he tilted his head and rested his cheek on a pile of golden silk.  “What is going to happen to us now?  Do I have to do another stupid introduction party? Third time is the charm after all.”

Iason glanced to the other before closing his eyes.  “You would have to be a pet in order to need an introduction, Riki.”

Silently Riki reviewed the conversation they just had in his mind, along with the previous days.  Iason had clearly called him a pet multiple times over the last two days since he returned…but the comment of him needing to be a pet didn’t make sense with that information.  Slowly he sat up and leaned back so he could look at Iason.

He watched as the Blondie opened his icy blue eyes.  After a second their eyes locked, having a silent conversation with one another.

Finally after a moment he moved his left hand to where the ring rested on his right ring finger.  Without looking down he slowly ran his fingers over the silver band, pulling it off after a slight hesitation. 

Without realizing it, tears collected in his eyes and started falling down his face.  If this was a pet ring he would not be able to remove it.  No matter what, only the person that placed it could remove the identity tag.  But here he was able to remove the ring.

“You…this isn’t….”

Iason smiled after a moment as he reached forward, lacing his long fingers in with the short blond hair.  “You are no longer a pet, Riki.  I spoke with Jupiter following your appointment with Raoul and we agreed that it would be best for you to be given a rank in Eos.  The body you have now is that of a Blondie; however I know that you would not accept such a title, nor would others accept you.  So instead Jupiter suggested a rank equal to a Platinum.”

He was stunned.  Words just wouldn’t form for him to speak.  After a few minutes he blinked a few times and shook his head.  “But wait, you said…when Cal and I got home, you said he couldn’t take me out of Eos without permission.  Why do I need permission if I’m not a pet?”

“You may not be a pet any longer; however you do still belong to me.  You will be required to obtain my permission before leaving Eos,” he replied as he released the blond strands. 

“What the hell,” Riki mumbled.  “Point is having this rank then?”

Iason stood and walked over to the window to stare over Amoi.  “Everyone except Blondie’s needs permission to enter Eos.”

“Yeah so?”

“Rather than you having to ask permission to come back, you have to ask permission to leave.  This will then allow you to return with no issue,” he said quickly.

Silently Riki adjusted on the couch so he could see Iason better.  “I don’t get it.  I thought Jupiter hated me because I tainted her favorite child,” Riki said as he leaned against the back of the couch.  “So why is she so willing to do all of this?”

Slowly Iason turned and stared at his love.  He wondered the same, and had to get an answer from his mother.  “She understood that I functioned better with you by my side.  Every few weeks I had to have processes fixed by her or Raoul so I would be able to work again.  She decided that if I had you back that I would be able to perform as normal again.”

“So she brought me back to life so I could entertain you,” he mumbled.

“In a way, yes.  Also as I had mentioned before, your human body has limits that would cause trouble in the future,” he explained as he stared at the other.  “Riki, does being brought back to life depress you?”

Riki was silent as he pondered the question over.  Maybe that was it?  Maybe even though he was alive like nothing had happened, he felt depressed.  In the end though it came down to more of he had no idea how to actually feel.  “No,” he said after a minute.

“Is it the lack of sex you requested?”

“No, it’s not that,” he scoffed.  “I feel…I don’t know,” he mumbled as he pulled he knees to his chest, still leaning against the back of the couch.  He laid his cheek on the couch and sighed.  “Yeah, I don’t know.”

Iason stared at him.  The emotions that his pet felt were nothing he would be able to comprehend.  Perhaps this was causing more of a toll on him that they all realized.  Raoul had said that there was nothing out of the ordinary on the reports, but maybe they were wrong? 

After a moment he walked closer to his love and sat on the edge of the couch.  He reached forward and moved a few strands of hair that had fallen out of their not-really-defined place.  “I spoke with Katze right before I called you earlier.  He and I came to an agreement that will allow you to work in the Black Market again.”

“Sounds fun,” he mumbled.

He was silent for a moment while he calculated his response.  “Are you not happy?”

Riki closed his eyes as he drew in a deep breath.  Another question he didn’t know how to answer.  “I want to say I’m happy but I really…” He went silent.  He really…what?

Iason stood and carefully picked up his love.  He walked towards their shared room and placed him on the bed.  “You seem tired.  You should rest so your brain will be able to provide you answers to your inquiries again.”

Slowly he nodded as he sprawled out on the bed.  “You’ll join me, right,” he asked as he opened his eyes half way.

“Of course,” Iason whispered as he laid on the bed behind the mongrel.

…

“Hey how about this one,” Riki called out as he flipped through some items on the tablet.  He held it over his shoulder for Cal to see when he walked up.

The young man hummed as he looked over the screen.  “I’m not too sure Iason will like it, Riki,” Cal said softly.  “If you would like we can send the choices to him.”

Riki smiled softly.  “It’s just dishes.  He has like a billion of them as it is,” he said as he tossed his tablet down.  “Why does he want me to pick a set anyways?”

Cal smiled as he walked over to the bar to pour Riki a drink.  “Master wishes you to have a say in the penthouse,” he explained as he poured a glass of brandy and walked it over to Riki.  “Though I do believe that this will be stocked at the apartment in Apatia,” he said as he handed the mongrel the glass.

“Wow thanks,” Riki said, surprised by the drink.  “You are becoming my best friend more and more, Cal.”

This caused the furniture to blush a deep red.  “You have the same look on your face as Master does when he desires wine,” he said softly.  “Did you not want brandy?”

“I always want something hard like this,” he said as he downed the drink in one gulp.  “But I have to be honest, even with all the wine I’ve seen Iason drink, I’ve never seen him drunk.”  He paused and turned to Cal.  “You have to do what I say now, right?  Don’t have to be run by Iason unless it takes me out of Eos?”

Slowly Cal nodded.  “That’s correct,” he whispered.

A dark twinkle lit up in his eye.  He looked around and smiled.  “Bring me the whole bottle, Cal.  Also I’m going to put in an order.  When it gets here, bring it straight to me,” he said as he picked up the tablet and started shopping.

“M…Riki, I’m not sure it would be wise to test Master Iason this early,” Cal whispered.  “He is still able to punish you, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“He won’t be mad,” Riki laughed as he scrolled through the items.  “If anything, he’ll be happy about it.”

Cal sighed as he recovered the bottle and placed it on the table before his Master.  “You are taking any blame,” he mumbled as he walked towards the kitchen.

Riki couldn’t stop laughing as he tried to pour a drink.  “Damn Cal, you are becoming more like me every day,” he called out.

Leaning out of the kitchen, Cal looked firmly at the former pet.  “Well, I am a mongrel,” he said as he returned to the kitchen.

“Funny kid,” Riki said as he placed a couple orders.  “Wonder if I can have my own pet that I can hold in front of Iason,” he mumbled as he pulled up the pets in auction.  As he looked over the photos, he noticed his head began to pound as if yelling at him.  “Cal,” he called out.  “Can you bring me something for my head when you have a moment,” he added.

“Don’t yell, Riki.”

Quickly he spun around, surprised to see Iason standing there.  “Hey, I didn’t hear you come in.  Is the alerting thing broken?”

A perfectly shaped blond brow rose slowly.  “It sounded as always.  Cal even heard it.”

“Oah,” Riki mumbled.  “I guess my head pounding drowned out the sound,” he said as he leaned his head on the back of the couch.  “Cal,” he called.

Running up, Cal held a cup of water and two pills.  “Here you are,” he whispered as he handed the glass to Riki.  “Master Iason, anything I can get you?”

“Hang on a second, what are you doing here anyways,” Riki asked after he took the two pills.  “I should still have another few hours before you get home.”

Iason smiled down at his pet.  “I decided to come home early.”

Riki rolled his eyes.  He sat up and turned so he was sitting reverse on the couch, looking up at Iason.  “Go back to work.  I know you have shit you need to do that you likely haven’t yet.  Also I got shit I wanna do with you gone.”

Smiling he reached forward and mixed his fingers in with Riki’s hair.  “You mean like spending my money?”

“Yeah, so get lost.”

He smirked before crushing his lips to his pets.  “I want you,” he whispered, barely pulling away from the other.  “I want to hear you cry.”

Riki bit onto Iason’s lower lip, not letting him continue his advances.  “Not yet,” Riki whispered.  “I want you too, but I’m not…”

“I know,” Iason said softly.  He pulled back and released the blond strands.  “Regrettably though, I will not be home tonight.”

“What,” he whispered.  “Why?”

Iason stood straight and looked into his eyes.  “I have to go off world and rather than having to charter a ship back in the middle of the night I will just stay overnight.  But when I return I will have a three day break to spend with you.”

Riki paused for a moment.  “Going shopping for a younger model,” he mumbled without thinking about it.

“Riki,” he growled.

“I didn’t mean it,” Riki replied as he leaned back, almost falling back onto the floor.  He took a deep breath as Iason caught him.  “Thanks.”

Iason nodded as he pushed his love onto the couch.  “You know I could never do that to you.  Though I do see you have been shopping for someone,” he said as he glanced at the tablet. 

He blushed as he looked at the tablet as well, a photo of a naked male displayed.  “Was just looking,” he whispered.  “Like I would ever willingly take a pet after all I’ve been through.”

Iason smiled as he leaned down to kiss Riki’s lips.  “Katze requested your assistance.  You can go today, or tomorrow my love.  But once I return home, Katze will release you.”

Slowly Riki nodded as he closed his eyes.  “I’ll stop by later,” he whispered.  “Don’t miss me too much while you’re gone.”  He opened his eyes and looked up at the Blondie.  “When do you leave?”

“Immediately after lunch.”

“Damn that’s fast,” he mumbled as he sat up and took Iason’s hand.  “When you get back then, we need to talk.  Serious talk, no sexual tactics to end the conversation early,” he said as he ran his fingers across the larger hand. 

Iason was silent as he stared at the other.  Carefully he reached forward and picked up his lover.  “Sounds serious my love,” he said as he carried Riki to the dining table.  “We can talk now if you would rather,” Iason said as he set the other in a chair.

“No, I want to wait.  I’m not sure what all I need to talk to you about yet,” he mumbled as he adjusted in the chair.  He hated when Iason carried him around, but with how his head felt right now he wasn’t going to complain. 

…

“You look like shit with blond hair.  I can’t put you out in the warehouse like that,” Katze said as he leaned back on the couch.

Riki rolled his eyes as he plopped down across from the broker.  “Yeah I know,” he mumbled as he closed his eyes.  “Katze, do you have anything stronger than gazers?”

“Cal already asked me kid.  In my possession, no, I don’t.  But since I can tolerate you, I have put in a special order I think will help you out,” he said as he lit a cigarette.  “For the time being you can work in an office.”

Quietly Riki leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling.  “Yeah, that’s fine.  So hey, how was the last year?  Find anyone to relieve stress with?”

After taking a puff of the cigarette, Katze coughed from taking too strong if a breath.  “The hell Riki?  You know that I don’t have anything to offer,” he mumbled.

Riki smiled as he stood up.  “Guess that means you haven’t been to Eos lately, huh?”

“You know I’m barred from going into Eos, idiot.  Are you sure your brain is working correctly,” Katze asked as he put the butt out in the ashtray on the table.  “Make your point already.”

“Should reach out to Raoul and ask him about the project he’s been working on,” the younger said before stretching.  “Anyways I just came by to check in and grab some work to take home.  Iason and I have a date when he gets back from that stupid trip and Blondie only debriefing.”

Katze grabbed another cigarette and sighed.  “You technically are a Blondie now, aren’t you?  So why didn’t you be a pain in the ass till you got to go?”

Riki smiled, his eyes twinkling.  “Iason mentioned the same thing to me when he told me he had to go.  I couldn’t help but laugh when he asked if I wanted to go…kind of pissed him off though.”

The redhead couldn’t help but laugh at that.  “Get out of here you little shit.”

Laughing, the former pet exited office and grabbed a few computers.  “Later old man,” he called out as loud as he could before leaving.

…

Quietly Riki stared in the penthouse doors from his spot on the ground of the balcony.  His fore arms rested on his knees which were slightly spaced out.  He sat silently as he watched Cal run around prepping the penthouse for Iason’s return as well as looking for him.

He smiled softly when he saw the young man jump and run to the door.  When he saw the door open to reveal Iason, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the railing.

“Where is Riki,” Iason asked as he removed his cloak.

Cal froze at the question.  “I’m sorry Master.  I know he hasn’t left the penthouse but other than that,” he paused and looked around.

Iason narrowed his eyes before he glanced around the room.  “Dismissed,” he said as he started towards the balcony. 

“Welcome home,” Riki said when he heard the door open.  “Have a good trip,” he asked as he looked up slowly.

Iason stared down at the former pet.  “Come, Riki,” he said as he held his hand out.

He shook his head slowly as he smiled.  “Sit with me.”

“On the ground?”

“Why not,” he asked softly.  “Sit next to me.”

Iason processed the request for a moment and slowly stepped out into the sunlight.  He sat next to his lover, leaning against the railing as well.  After a second he wrapped his right arm around Riki’s shoulders and pulled him close.

“Hey I was comfy,” Riki mumbled as he adjusted in the Blondies arm.  “So how was the trip?”

“Boring as usual,” Iason replied as he pulled Riki closer.  “I missed being able to hold you,” he said as he angled his head, kissing the mongrels lips. “Why are we sitting on the ground?”

He placed his head on Iason’s shoulder.  “Is it really that bad?  Don’t tell me the Blondie that slept with a mongrel is afraid of a little dirt,” Riki retorted.

Iason stayed silent as he processed the thoughts.  “Did you have a good day alone?”

He sighed as he adjusted against Iason’s chest.  After a moment he closed his eyes.  “I have no idea,” he mumbled before letting out a chuckle.  “How does emotion work?”

“I don’t understand the question.”

He sighed again.  “Okay then,” he mumbled.  “My brain tells me I should feel something, but I don’t…I don’t know.  I don’t _feel_ it,” he explained.

Iason looked down into his lovers eyes.  “Riki, when did you last feel an emotion?  Not react as you think you should, but actually feel it?”

A single tear slipped onto Iason’s shirt.  “I don’t know.  I don’t even know why I’m crying right now.”

Carefully Iason pulled Riki onto his lap and into his arms.  “What do you feel now,” he asked as he caught the next tear. 

“Nothing,” he whispered.

“When you realized the ring wasn’t a pet ring,” Iason asked softly.  He waited and sighed when he felt Riki shaking.  “I believe the issue may just be a connection.  Regrettably I was the first of Jupitar’s creations to feel emotion the way I do, so it may not be something she has perfected for other creations.  I believe we will need Raoul’s help, my pet.”

“Not your pet,” he mumbled.

Iason chuckled at the comment.  His calling of Riki this time had been a slip of the tongue, but it was funny to see Riki defend himself still.  “You will always be my pet, Riki.  Perhaps not in the way as before, but in other ways.  On some levels we are equals.”

Slowly the mongrel untangled himself from the Blondies embrace and turned to straddle him.  “Let me put you in chains and fuck you for hours, and then I will believe we are equals.”

“I would consider however you normally pass out after an hour,” Iason replied with a smile.

“This is a new body.  For all we know, my stamina is twice what yours is,” he mumbled.

Iason couldn’t help but laugh.  He lifted his right arm and mixed his fingers into the others still blond hair, and pulled him into a kiss.  “We will know once you are ready,” he replied.  “Though I do hope it won’t be too much longer.”

He rolled his eyes as he stood up.  “Yeah well,” he mumbled as he stretched.  “I’m hungry.”

“I’ll request time with Raoul for later today.  Once you have had your fill, I think you should take a bath,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes as he stood next to the other.

“Also known as you want me to take a bath with you so you can molest me to no end before we go visit your friend,” Riki groaned as he opened the sliding door for them both.

Iason smiled softly.  “I’m glad you understand.”

…

A chill ran down his spine as the cold air touched his skin.  He didn’t say anything as an arm wrapped around him and supported his weight, while a soft hand ran up and down his bare arm.  Taking a deep breath he rested his forehead on Iason’s upper arm and closed his eyes.

“It’s alright,” Iason whispered as Riki’s hold on his cloak got tighter.

“Iason, tell your pet to relax or this will hurt more,” Raoul mumbled from behind as he glared up at the other blondie.

Riki groaned as he looked up at Iason.  He knew that the man in front of him, holding him close, would never let anything happen to him.  He knew Iason would always protect him.  But right now he couldn’t get his mind to believe it.  All his body wanted to do was run away and hide.  “Iason….”

Iason smiled and raised his free hand to the blond hair.  “Riki, I love you.  This will be over soon,” he said before lowering his hand and taking the tanned one.  “I want you to focus all your tension here to our hands.  You can squeeze as hard as you need to if you feel anything at all.”

Slowly he nodded and took another deep breath.  He squeezed Iason’s hand when he felt the needle puncture his skin.  “Fuck,” he whispered.

“Vulgar as ever,” Raoul mumbled as he pressed the needle to where he needed it to collect the fluid in Riki’s spine.  “Done,” he said after pulling the needle out.  “Gently lay him on the bed, Iason.”

The blond nodded and pushed his lover down onto the bed where he had already been sitting, so he way lying on his side.  “Rest for a bit my love.  I will be over with Raoul,” he said as he leaned down to kiss Riki’s lips.

“Hate needles,” Riki mumbled after the kiss was over, as he lay like a discarded rag doll.

Iason chuckled and joined his brother over near a terminal. “Well?”

“Guess I should stop calling him a Mongrel,” Raoul mumbled as he leaned back in his chair, eyes flicking over the information his computer was displaying.  “I’m sorry to say but this is out of my realm.  You will need Jupitar’s assistance to correct the error.  I will upload the data to her so she knows, but it’s up to her to fix it.”

Iason sighed as he looked over at his zoned out lover.  This was not a meeting he wanted to have anytime soon, asking for Jupiter’s help with regards to Riki.  “How long until he can be moved?”

Raoul glanced back then at the clock on the wall.  “Give him about ten minutes if you don’t want to risk damage.  His body, like ours, heals at a rapid pace but better to error on the side of caution.”

The Syndicate leaders mind froze as something occurred to him.  He glanced at the screen then back at his pet.  “Raoul, can you do one more test for me,” he asked with a smile.

A perfect brow raised in question as Raoul waited patiently for the request.

A soft smile graced Iason’s face.  “Check all of his Elite abilities.  I want to make sure the rest of his body is performing as ours does.”

He turned back to the terminal and tapped on the screen a bit.  He looked over more of the data and stood.  “Help me connect him properly,” Raoul said as he walked over to the examination bed.  “ _Carefully_ lay him on his stomach.”

Iason nodded as he adjusted his pet who moaned in protest.  Once completed, he watched as Raoul connected some electro-pads to various places on Riki’s back.  “Can’t you just connect him as we do?”

“Have you found his port,” Raoul mumbled as he walked back over to the terminal, not waiting for a reply.

The other paused and looked down at Riki.  “Good point,” he whispered. 

On each of Jupitar’s Blondie’s was a hidden spot where when the skin was peeled back, a small port was visible.  With this they could access the system; however they were not able to control their own actions while in this level of a system dive.

Since Riki’s body was created as a Blondies was, it would have to have one as well.  But over the course of Iason’s _exploration_ of the other, he hadn’t yet located one…if there was one.

“Everything looks fine, Iason,” Raoul said after a few minutes.  “If there is anything wrong with your pet, I can’t find it.”

“Not his pet,” Riki mumbled as he sat up.  “Can we go home yet?”

Iason nodded to Riki as he carefully peeled off the pads.  “Find your shirt and we can go,” he whispered.  “Thank you, Raoul.  As always I thank you for taking the time to assist.”

The other released a sigh as he turned to his friend.  “It’s nothing, Iason.  It’s nice not having you be the one who needs to be examined.”

He had to agree with that, as he watched Riki stumble over after finding and putting on his shirt.  “Shall we?”

Quietly Riki curled into Iason’s chest.  “My back hurts,” he mumbled.

Iason chucked as he wrapped his right arm around Riki’s waist.    Carefully he led his love out of the lab and towards his own office.  “I have to grab some stuff.”

“Thought you were mine for three days,” Riki asked softly as he played with the long blond strands resting against Iason’s back. 

“I will be home for the next few days, yes.  However I do not recall giving myself to you,” Iason said as led his love to a chair outside of his office.  “Stay.”  With that simple command he walked up to his office door which slid open for him and closed behind him.  He exited after a moment and walked back over to Riki.

Riki slowly stood, refusing any help.  “I seem to remember something about you being in chains,” he mumbled.  “Fuck I’m tired,” he said before letting out a yawn.

…

“Where the hell are my clothes,” Riki yelled out as he walked from the master bedroom to his former room.  “I can’t even find the ones I was wearing,” he growled as he noticed the empty closet.  “Iason,” he called as he walked into the living room where Iason sat reading a tablet.

Iason glanced up at the naked mongrel then back at his work.  “They were pet clothes.  I had them removed while you were resting.”

His fists balled tightly as he glared at Iason who didn’t seem to care at all.  “So you just had _all_ of my clothes taken away?  What about my clothes from Ceres?!”

“They were taken away as well,” Iason replied calmly.

“The fuck…what am I supposed to wear?”

Iason sighed as he placed the tablet on the table next to him.  There was after all no point trying to read if Riki was going to yell.  “You can wear my clothes until your new ones arrive. Though if you chose, I have no issue with you wearing nothing,” he replied with a smirk.

“To hell with you,” Riki growled as he marched into the master bedroom.  He ripped the sheet off the bed and wrapped it around himself.  “Makes me chose dishes while he picks clothing for me.  Fucking ass hole,” he mumbled.

“Riki,” Iason said as he leaned on the door frame.  “Lay down on the bed.”

He turned and glared at Iason. “Go fuck yourself.”

Iason raised a brow at the comment but didn’t say a word.  He watched Riki for a few moments as their eyes met in silent battle.  Finally Riki gave in and crawled on the bed, still wrapped in the sheet.  As this happened, Iason walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed.  “Close your eyes.”

Silently he did, waiting to see what would happen.

“Relax my love,” Iason whispered.  “I want you to take a deep breath and think about something for me.  Image yourself as you were, when you were still a mongrel.”

Riki opened his eyes and looked at Iason.  “Are you on drugs or something?”

“ _Riki_ ,” he said firmly.

“Fine,” he mumbled as he closed his eyes again.  “So what am I thinking about?”

Iason shook his head. “Remember your previous body; your human body.  Your perfectly tanned skin, the delicate black strands of your hair, your-“

“Don’t be getting a hard on, Iason.  I’m mad at you for tossing my clothes,” Riki mumbled as he adjusted on the bed. 

The other didn’t respond to the comment.  “Focus Riki,” he ordered.  After a few minutes he smiled and stood.  “Go take a shower.  Your new clothes should be here in a few minutes, and we will go out once you are dressed.”

Riki opened his eyes and watched as Iason walked out of the room.  “Hell was the point of that,” he growled as he stood.  He let the sheet fall to the floor as he walked into the bathroom.  “My skin’s the same color as it was before,” he mumbled as he looked in the mirror.  Turning on his heals he walked out of the bathroom and the bedroom, heading towards the living room.  “Iason!”

Cal froze and suddenly ran towards the mongrel.  “Master Riki, please cover up,” he begged.

“Iason, what the hell…” he paused when Iason and the two men the blondie was speaking with turned his way.  A slight blush appeared on his face as he tried to cover his privets.  “Who the hell are they?”

Silently Iason brought his hand to his face as he shook his head.  “I told you to shower, Riki,” he said as Cal quickly wrapped a towel around the nude former pet.  “These men have bought your new attire.”

“Thanks,” he whispered to Cal as he took hold of the towel.  “The hell should I know that people were actually here?  And what the hell did you do to me?!”

Iason smiled as he walked over to Riki.  “I did nothing to you, Riki,” he whispered as he mixed his fingers in with the others hair.  “I see though that you were able to change your hair to black.”

“Like I said, what did you do to me,” he mumbled.

“I didn’t do anything my love.  After speaking with Raoul it occurred to me that you should be able to change your hair color at will, so I tested it.  And it appears to have worked,” he explained as he continued to play with the strands.  “Your body is the same as mine, Riki.  Which means I currently know your body better than you do.”

Riki closed his eyes as he sighed.  “I think I’m going to shower and sleep a bit more,” he whispered.

The other nodded as he released the hair.  He turned to look at the two men who had vanished.  He nodded to Cal who was moving some of the bags around.  “Once you wake, Cal will sort your new clothes with you.  I believe you will like the clothes I selected for you.”

“Hope you kept the receipts,” Riki mumbled as he turned around.  He stopped when Iason wrapped his longer arms around his waist from behind.  “You creep me out when you do that.”

Iason smiled as he released the younger, watching him walk back into their bedroom.

Slowly Riki released the towel and walked into the bathroom again.  He stared at his reflection in the mirror.  As if scared, he ran his fingers through the black strands.  Even with the power of a strong gazer, he didn’t expect to ever have the color back.

He took a deep breath and focused on his hair.  He was amazed when he saw it slowly change color back to blond.  “Fuck,” he mumbled.  He focused again and the black took over once again.  Slowly he clenched his left fist and punched the mirror.  “Fuck it all,” he whispered.

After a few breaths he turned on the shower and stepped in.  He closed his eyes as the spray doused his body.  It was a few minutes before tears started rolling down his face.  “Fuck,” he cried, pounding his fist on the wall.  “I’m so stupid.”

_“You are not as stupid as you believe.”_

He opened his eyes and looked around.  “What the hell?”

_“No need to worry.  I have a connection with all of my creations.  You are no exception, as you have realized before.”_

“Jupiter.”

_“Correct.”_

“Why did you fucking bring me back,” Riki asked as he leaned on the wall.  “Don’t say for Iason, because I know that’s a crock.  I’m _nothing_ like how I used to be and he knows it.  Whatever was between us is ov-“

_“You are thinking too hard now.”_

Riki rolled his eyes at the statement.  “Tell me what you want from me, you over grown tablet.”

There was silence for a moment before Jupiter spoke again.  _“You said you are nothing like you were, though I made sure I created your new body to be a perfect match to your old one.  How are you different?”_

“Tablet is too good for you.  You’re a fucking over grown Giga Pet,” Riki mumbled.  “I don’t feel anything.”

_“Did you feel when you punched the mirror?”_

“I felt the pain in my hand,” he replied as he looked at his bleeding knuckles.  He could also see a few shards of the glass in the injury.  “Not my issue though, Giga pet reject.”

Again Jupiter was silent for a moment.  _“An internal diagnostic shows nothing wrong.  Tell me your issue, Riki._ ”

He sighed as he stepped under the spray again.  “I don’t feel anything.  Not even for Iason.  My mind tells me I should care about him, but it’s just not there.”

_“What do you want?  Do you want to love the person who turned you into a slave and abused you for years?  Or do you want your old life back.”_

He froze.  “Wh…what are you saying?”

_“You have a choice.  You can return to Ceres and live your old life with your new body, or you can stay with Iason.  I can help you with the emotional issue depending on your decision.”_

“You’re…trying to push me away from Iason?  You brought me back to like just to fuck with us?”

_“I will wait for your decision, Riki.”_

“Wait!  You stupid Giga pet; get back here,” Riki yelled out.

“Riki,” Iason called as he stepped into the bathroom.  He glanced at the mirror then walked to the shower.  “Did you get angry at the mirror?”

Slowly he turned to Iason, not bothering to hide is body. _‘Fucking hell…do I not care that I’m naked before him because I love him or because he trained me this way?’_

“Tired of looking in the mirror,” he mumbled as he turned back to the spray.

Iason opened the glass door and reached for Riki’s hand.  “Was it worth it?  Do you feel better after breaking it,” he asked as he examined the injury.

He shook his head slowly.  “No,” he whispered.

Iason smiled as he stripped out of his clothing and stepped into the shower behind his pet.  “Allow me,” he whispered as he activated the shampoo dispenser.  “Wouldn’t want to risk you getting soap in that cut,” Iason said as he lathered up Riki’s hair.

“Why are you being so nice,” he asked softly.

Slowly he moved his hands down to Riki’s chest to wash it.  “I don’t want to risk losing you,” Iason whispered.  “I don’t want a repeat of that ever again.”

“But I didn’t-“ as he tried to turn, he was stopped by Iason who had moved his left leg to stop Riki’s movement.  “Iason.”

“I know it was an accident, Riki.  But perhaps if I had shown that I loved you, you would have gone with me off world, which wouldn’t have had us apart,” Iason explained as he wrapped his arms around Riki’s waist. 

Riki closed his eyes as he leaned into the embrace.  “No, you’re wrong.  I knew you loved me, Iason.  The problem was that you didn’t…wouldn’t let me be free like I was before.”

“I couldn’t risk you not coming back,” Iason whispered as he pulled Riki close.  “Riki,” he whispered as he moved his right hand down to the others manhood.

“Damn you,” he replied as his body began reacting to the touch.  “I’m not in the mood.”

Iason smiled softly.  “You don’t have to be in the mood for me to relieve you.  Look, your body is agreeing with me.”

Riki closed his eyes as he felt his body reacting to the touch. _‘Fuck.’_   It took a moment for him to compose himself, but finally Riki lunged forward to break free of Iason’s grip.  “I said no, Iason,” he responded as he turned in the shower stall. 

He was shocked for a moment.  “Riki?”

Slowly the mongrel stepped back under the water and rinsed his hair of the soap.  “I told you I’m not in the mood,” he said as he stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel.  After wrapping it around himself, he walked out of the bathroom leaving Iason confused.

He was about to sit on the bed when he stopped.  He stared at the bed for a moment until he heard the water turn off.  Silently he entered the hallway and entered his former room.

“Hello Riki,” Cal said from his spot on the floor next to all of the clothing bags.  “Is there anything I can get you?”

“Pants would be nice,” he mumbled as he sat on the bed.

Cal stood and dug in a bag.  He selected and article and then another from a separate bag.  “I believe these will be to your liking,” he said as he presented them to Riki.

Riki nodded as he looked over the clothing.  He stood and put on the boxers before unfolding the pants.  “Thanks Cal,” he said as he stepped into the pants.  “Do you have a shirt in those bags,” he asked as he zipped up the pants.

Silently Cal walked into the closet and removed a hanger.  “Here you are,” Cal said softly.

Carefully Riki put on the skin tight black shirt.  “Damn, Iason did pick nice clothes,” he mumbled.

“Of course I did, Riki.  I selected them with you in mind,” Iason said as he stood in the doorway dressed in only his robe.  “Cal, fetch the med kit so we can patch Riki’s hand.”

He paused, looking quickly at the others hands.  It took a moment but he finally saw Riki’s left hand was bleeding.  “Of course, Master,” he said as he rushed past Iason.

“Iason, I want permission to leave Eos,” Riki said as he walked over to the bags, looking for shoes.

“Is this your way of asking me?”

Silently Riki opened a box and removed the two boots.  “No, it’s not,” he replied as he sat back on the bed.  “I want to go outside of Eos.  If you won’t grant me it, I will leave on my own and request return access when I feel like coming back.”

Iason didn’t say anything as Cal ran back into the room.  He sat on the bed and started tending to Riki’s wound.  “May I ask what you did?”

“I punched the mirror in the bathroom,” Riki mumbled while staring Iason in the eye.  “So do I have your permission or not?”

He closed his blue eyes and smirked.  “You should know better by now than to challenge me, Riki,” Iason replied as he pushed off the door frame and walked down the hall.

Riki shook his head as he looked down at Cal.  “Thanks Cal,” Riki whispered as the young furniture finish up with the bandages. 

Carefully Cal stood and looked down into the others eyes.  He wanted to say something but knew it wasn’t his place.  “Is there anything else I can assist you with?  Would you like to sort out the clothes?”

“I’ll do it when I come back,” Riki said as he stood and guided Cal to the side.  “Sorry kid, I don’t mean to put you in a bad situation or anything.  I just need some space,” he added as he walked past Cal and into the hallway.  He glanced at the Master bedroom and sighed.  “See ya.”  With that he walked to the front door and vanished out of it.

…

A notice came across Iason’s communicator after about twenty minutes.  He glanced at it and his eyes went wide.  “Cal,” he called out.

“Yes Master,” Cal asked as he walked into the blond’s home office with a glass of wine. 

“Where is Riki?”

Cal paused as he placed the wine on the desk.  “He went out, Master.”

He narrowed his blue eyes as he looked at the message again.  He turned to his terminal and activated the screen, pulling up Riki’s credit profile.  With a quick touch he deactivated the line of credit attached.  “Alert me when he calls,” he said as he minimized the profile.

Quietly Cal bowed before he headed out of the room.  “I hope you know what you’re doing, Riki,” he mumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suddenly realize I ended a lot of scene's with them saying "I love you" >.>


	4. Chapter 4

Riki walked down the streets of Midas with a smile on his face.  He looked through the dark shades on his face as he walked by different stores. 

Happily, he walked towards the invisible, yet unkept, line between Midas and Ceres.  He stepped over the line and took a deep breath of the fake air change.  With a chuckle he started down the street towards the main area of the ghetto.

As he walked down the street, he could tell people were staring at him.  He laughed to himself trying to decide if they were staring at him because of him being someone they didn’t know or because of the expensive clothes he was wearing. 

Quietly he walked into a bar his group once frequented.  As he looked around, he smiled when he saw his former gang sitting around a table.  Happily he walked over to the table and waited for them to notice him.

“Can we help you buddy,” one of them asked.

“Naw, I just came to stare at your idiots,” Riki said as he took off his sunglasses.  “What’s up guys?”

They all stared at him for a moment.  “No way,” one whispered.

“You can’t be…”

“Riki,” Guy whispered as he stood.

Riki smiled as he chuckled.  “Long time no see guys,” he said as he wrapped an arm around Guy’s shoulders, momentarily surprised he had done so after everything that happened between them.

While distracted, the other three jumped up and attacked Riki.  Guy barely avoided being pulled to the ground with Riki.  “Where the fuck have you been,” Norris asked as they all tumbled around on the floor. 

He laughed as he pushed them all off.  He noticed that he had to hold back his strength when fighting with his gang.  “I’ve been busy.”

“We got hauled into Midas because of you,” Sid said as he punched Riki in the arm.  “The hell was up with that?”

Riki shook his head as he stood.  Carefully he slid into the booth as his gang circled around him.  “Ya…sorry about that…lot happened,” he mumbled.

Guy scooted closer to Riki, wrapping his arm around Riki’s waist. “Missed you though man,” he mumbled.  “Really though where have you been?”

He rolled his eyes and sighed as he snapped for a waiter to come over.  “Bring us a round,” he ordered, tossing a digi card on the table.

“Still packing money, huh,” Luke teased.

Guy paused as he relaxed his arm a bit.  “Riki, are you still with _him_ ,” he whispered.

Quietly Riki looked down and nodded.  “Yeah Guy, I am.”

His arm fell and he scooted out.  “Makes sense then,” he mumbled as he stood and stretch his only arm.

“Guy,” Riki called softly.

“Naw man, it’s cool.  I know that I fucked up and was acting like a crazy person.  I deserved what I got,” he mumbled.  “Glad you are okay though.  See you around,” he said as he walked out of the bar.

Riki watched as the other walked way.  He wasn’t sure if he should say anything to him or just let him go.  No matter what he would probably end up seeing him again one day in the future if he was going to be in the area for a while.  “Damn jerk,” he mumbled.

The others glanced at one another but decided best not to say anything about it.  “So Riki, you look way different now,” Norris said with a chuckle.  “Something happen?”

He paused as he thought about what to answer.  “Couple things have changed I guess.  If I told you what happened, you wouldn’t believe me,” he replied as the round was brought to them. 

“Your card is weird though, where did you pinch it,” the young server asked.

“What do you mean ‘weird’?”

The young man bobbed his head back and forth.  “The credit profile was disabled but there was another profile on it that was active.  You never see that.”

Riki looked down at the digi card.  He closed his eyes and thought about what it could mean.  Likely Iason had turned his profile off…but if there was another, maybe it was the giga pet’s doing?  “Interesting,” he mumbled as he pocketed the card. 

“So how much credit does it have,” Sid asked with a laugh.

The server was silent for a moment.  “I don’t think we have enough alcohol in the building,” he mumbled.

The three mongrels looked at one another.  “Damn Riki.  Daddy giving you a giant allowance or what,” Luke asked with a laugh.

“More like Mommy,” Riki mumbled without thinking about it.  “Fuck,” he growled as he slid out of the booth.

“Hey where you goin?”

Riki stood quietly as he grabbed the card.  “I need to talk to Katze,” he said after a moment.  “I think I seriously fucked up.”

_“But you always wanted freedom.  Now you have exactly what you want.”_

“Shut up,” he growled.  “Because of you he’s pissed at me.”

Everyone glanced around as they watched Riki talk to himself. 

_“You are free of Iason now, aren’t you happy?”_

“Fuck off you stupid tablet,” Riki said as he shook his head. 

_“Here is the connection you want.”_

Riki paused wondering what she was talking about.  After a moment his body spazzed and he fell to the floor as his body convulsed.

“Riki,” the three Mongrels yelled as they jumped up and kneeled next to their friend. 

…

Iason stood on the balcony quietly as he sipped his wine.  He had taken Riki’s favorite spot, where the Mongrel had been able to see Ceres with fewer obstructions. 

“Master, Lord Am wishes to speak with you,” Cal said from the door way. 

Slowly Iason turned to look into the penthouse.  He nodded to his friend who walked towards them.  “Raoul, to what do I owe this late night visit?”  After a minute he glanced at Cal.  “Cal, either your room or the kitchen please.”

Cal nodded slowly as he glanced around.  “Yes Master,” he said as he walked around the other Blondie.

Raoul waited a minute before stepped outside.  He looked around before pulling out a tablet.  “I continued looking over the data that I collected from your pet.  I was also able to create the needed connection to be able to monitor him remotely.”

“Spying on me through Riki,” Iason asked as he turned to face his friend.  “Have you learned anything you didn’t already know?”

“Riki passed out about an hour ago.  He is running a fever, however is nothing that will cause him any damage,” Raoul replied, deciding it best to get the information out.

Iason was silent as he processed the information.  Likely in the time he had been gone, he had reached Ceres.  In Ceres he had likely met up with his former gang…which meant Guy.  The question then was would Guy try anything.  “Are you able to tell why he passed out?”

“If his neuro scans are any indication, he’s been speaking with Jupiter,” he replied as he held out the tablet.  “There appears to have been an upload to him right before he passed out.”

Quickly Iason took the tablet and scanned through the data.  “Are you able to tell where he is?”

He was silent.  “No.”

Iason looked over the balcony towards Ceres.  Depending where his love passed out, he could be in danger.  “I will go look for him,” Iason said as he walked towards the pent house.  “When I return I will confront Jupiter,” he said firmly. 

…

Riki opened his eyes with a flash of red.  He took a deep breath and glanced around, surprised to be in new surroundings.  Slowly and carefully he sat up as he head started pounding.  “Damn it.”

“Hey, welcome back to this world.  You know you weigh a fucking ton,” Norris said as he walked into the room and held out a bottle of water.

He reached out and took it as he shook his head.  “Long story man,” he mumbled.  “What the hell happened?  Where am I?”

“This is my place.  We had to get you out of there after you passed out and like I said, you weigh a ton.  The guys went home,” he said as he plopped down next to Riki.  “The fuck happened to you man?”

“Lot of fucked up shit,” Riki mumbled before downing half the bottle.  “This water tastes like piss.”

Norris started laughing as he leaned back on the wall behind the bed.  “Ceres man; everything tastes horrible here.”

Riki leaned back as well and smiled.  “Yeah, I know.  But I missed it.  So what happened with you and what’s his name…Max?  Thought you two made a cute couple.”

“Was really nice sex too,” he mumbled.  “Yea we were together until the fucking Darkmen crossed the line and arrested the three of us.  We were in for over a year.  When we all finally got out, Max had moved on.”

Riki closed his eyes as he took in the information.  That meant it was his fault.  “Sorry man.”

“Naw you know, it’s funny.  We had some rough days but for the most part we were taken care of.  And I mean _really_ good care.  We had food, clean clothes, and clean water…even medical care.  Apparently someone wanted us alive,” Norris explained.

“I’m glad,” he replied as he opened his eyes.  “How long was I out anyways?”

“Let’s just say its afternoon now,” Norris stated as he started drinking some of his water. 

Riki sighed as he closed his eyes again.  “Fuck, I need to go then.  He’s gonna be pissed with me for sure,” he mumbled as he carefully slid off the bed.  Once he was on his feet he stopped to think, ignoring Norris’s comments.  When he stormed out the night before, he couldn’t care less what Iason had to say.  He didn’t want the lecture which was why he left without saying anything.  But why did he care now?

“Yo, Riki!”

He shook his head as he looked back at his friend.  “Sorry, brain turned off.”

Norris started to laugh as he stood as well.  “Yeah, I know that feeling.  Anyways, I was asking who _He_ is.  Find a fuck buddy or what?”

“Somethin like that,” Riki mumbled.  “Where are the others at?  Sure they would be pissed if I just bolted.”

Norris nodded as he patted Riki on the back.  “So true.  Want a shower first though man?”

“No it’s fine.  He’ll make me shower when I get back regardless,” he mumbled as he walked towards the door to the room.  “Nice little place you got here.  It’s actually two rooms, that’s not normal.”

“Right?  I mean it’s still small and all, but it’s cool to have the wall.  Then I don’t have people sittin on my bed all the time,” he said as he followed the other.  “Not to say that I didn’t mind having you in my bed last night,” he added with a laugh.

Riki froze in the middle of the small living area of the apartment.  “Norris…please tell me you didn’t do anything that you haven’t told me,” he said with a bit of fear in his voice. 

Without a care in the world, Norris pat Riki’s shoulder while still laughing.  “Oh don’t you remember?  You were screaming “more, harder” for like two hours last night.  Even my neighbor heard you.”

Slowly he turned to the other with wide eyes.  “You have to be shitting me,” he mumbled.  “Either you’re being an ass, or you are really small because I don’t feel anything,” Riki added quickly to try to hide the concern he was feeling.  In the past he had woken up to find out that Iason had penetrated him while he was asleep, but he wasn’t sure what this body would feel if someone tried it now.

“Wow; that hurts man.  I’ll have you know I get compliments on my size,” Norris replied as he put his hands on his hips.  “No, we didn’t do anything.  After getting your heavy ass here we were all too tired to even move.  The guys barely had the strength to walk out the door.”

He instantly felt like a weight was lifted off his chest.  He didn’t want his friends hurt just because they did something stupid.  And he doubted Iason would stop at just an ass kicking this time.  “Idiot,” he mumbled to again try and hide the fear he felt before, as he opened the door.

“But you still love us, right,” Norris said as he jumped on the other, wrapping his right arm around Riki’s neck like one would do if they were lovers. 

“Only till the day you guys get me killed,” Riki mumbled as they started walking.

“Let’s hope that day doesn’t come again for a long time,” a voice from behind them said with a soft chuckle.

They both stopped and turned.  Riki knew the voice when he heard it, but Norris didn’t till he turned to see who it was.  “Holy fuck, that’s Katze.”

Riki stood straight as he looked over the red head.  “What’s up old man?  Your Master send you out ta play?”

Norris almost fell over when Riki started talking.  “Dude, you know this guy?”

Silently Katze flipped the cigarette butt away from him then glared at Riki.  “Actually I volunteered to track your ass down.  Though my _Master_ did come along with me,” he said as he indicated the hover car behind him with his head. 

The gang leader froze as he looked back at the white car.  “H-he’s in there?  Seriously?”

Without a word the black market boss nodded.  “Your move Riki.  What will you do?”

“Is he mad,” Riki whispered.

Katze shrugged.  “That’s hard to say.  From what Cal tells me, I would believe he is furious.  But after all the shit you’ve done over the years…can’t really guess his mood.”

Slowly he nodded before turning to Norris.  “Norris, tell the guys I’m sorry and I’ll try ta come see you all when I can.  And take this,” he said as he pulled the digi card from his pocket.  “Get everyone a round on me as an apology for ditchin again.”

“Riki…man, what’s going on,” he asked as he took the card.  He paused when he noticed the door of the hover car open and saw the occupant step out.  “Fucking hell…is that a fucking Blondie?”

Riki turned to look at the forbidding form of the leader of the Syndicate.  “If you think Katze is scary, then you really don’t want to cross him,” he said with a nervous laugh.  “Was great seein you guys, but you should probably leave right about now,” he added before he started towards Iason.  He stopped when there was a little more than a foot between them.

Blue eyes danced over Riki’s body, noting no visible injuries.  “Have you had your fun?”

“No, but I’m guessing you really don’t care if I have or not,” Riki mumbled.

Iason closed his eyes for a moment then opened them.  He reached his right hand up to cup the left side of his mongrel’s face.  “Of course I care if you are happy, Riki.  I told you before you are permitted to leave Eos so long as you have my permission first.”

“I don’t want your permission though, Iason.  I want to be free,” he said firmly, trying to ignore the hand on his face.

“Is that what Jupiter promised you?  Freedom?”

The mongrel paused.  “No…how do you know that she….”

Iason smiled faintly as he removed his hand.  “Let’s have this conversation away from listening ears,” he said as he stepped back into the hover car.

“Can’t believe you brought a fucking hover car to Ceres,” Riki mumbled as he looked back at Katze who shrugged again.  Slowly he slid in the back seat as the door closed automatically.  He wasn’t surprised at all when Iason wrapped his arm around his waist.  “Iason-“

“We’ll talk once we are home,” Iason said as he pulled the mongrel closer.

“What if I don’t want to go home,” Riki mumbled as he stared out the window. “What if this is where I want to be?”

Iason was silent for a moment as the car took off.  He glanced at Riki who appeared to focus on different things as they moved.  “Riki, tell me.  What is it that appeals to you about Ceres?  You have stated many times that life in Ceres was hard, so I want to understand.”

The other was silent for a moment before he turned to look at the Blondie.  “Why do you like Eos so much?  Why do we have to live there?  Why not Apa…Midas or somewhere else?” he asked as he caught himself.

He tried to ignore the slip but ended up shaking his head.  “I stay in Eos because it’s closer to my work and to Jupiter.  Eos is where all Blondie’s live.”

“And the Slums is where all Mongrels live,” Riki pointed out.  “Iason, don’t get me wrong.  I love being with you but I just want my space and to be able to roam.”

“What did you just say?”

“That I want my space?  Not like-“

Iason grabbed Riki’s face again but this time forced their lips together.  The kiss between the two lasted a few minutes.  “What was that for,” he whispered while trying to control his breathing.

“You used the word “love”.  This is an emotional word that you shouldn’t be able to use based on the glitch in your programing,” Iason said softly as he let his right hand roam down to Riki’s jeans.

“Is that why she knocked me out…she said she was giving me a connection but…”

Iason smiled softly.  “Perhaps.  Raoul informed me that you received an upload before you passed out.  I don’t think it would be past her to leave such a valuable piece of you out to see if that it would in turn drive us apart.”

Riki nodded slowly but paused when Iason started kissing his neck.  “What are you doing,” he whispered.

He rapidly tore his gloves off before he started to let a hand roam under Riki’s shirt.  “I want you,” Iason whispered in Riki’s ear.  “And I can see that you want me also.”

The mongrel started taking deeper breathes when Iason started touching sensitive spots on his body.  “Fuck,” he whispered as he closed his eyes.  “Can we at least wait until we are on a bed?”

Iason paused at the request.  “Does it matter that much where I take you?”

“Would you like it if I fucked you in the car,” he replied without a second thought.  “I would like to have something that I can hold onto if I need to.”

“Am I not stable?”

Riki glared at the blond then shook his head.  “No, when you are busy nailing me from behind you aren’t freaking stable.  Now can you keep it in your damn pants till we get home?”

“As you wish,” Iason said as he started playing with Riki’s body again.

“What the fuck,” Riki exclaimed when Iason stuck his hand straight into his pants.  “What are you doing?”

Iason pulled Riki into another kiss before chuckling.  “You never said anything about you keeping anything in your pants,” he whispered as he wrapped his hand around the others manhood. 

Riki closed his eyes and leaned his head back as Iason began pumping him while still encased in his leather pants.  “I hate you sometimes,” he panted.

…

Quietly Cal looked at the clock then back to the two covered plates sitting on the counter.  Over three hours ago Iason had returned with Riki in his arms and had carried him straight to the bedroom.  When Cal wanted to ask, Katze just shook his head and headed out.

Since he hadn’t been told otherwise, he had started on dinner.  Approximately twenty minutes had passed now since he had sent a ping to Iason’s wrist terminal that dinner was ready and still no one had come out.

With a sigh he stared at his wasted efforts.  He was about to slip them into the fridge when a thought occurred to him.  He looked at the clock and realized that Iason had skipped breakfast and lunch since he had been out looking for Riki.  And now he was about to skip dinner due to the activities that he and Riki were doing.

After a moment of debate he finally walked to the wine cooler and pulled out a bottle he knew his Master would both enjoy personally and with the meal.  He also grabbed a chilled decanter and poured the wine into it.  After returning the remaining wine to the little fridge, he grabbed a wine flute and carried both over to the waiting cart he had pulled out.

He returned to the counter and looked for something Riki would like.  Normally he requested brandy but from time to time he requested bourbon.  When he located the glass bottle, he grabbed it as well as a chilled glass and also added them to the cart.

Smiling at himself he looked over the cart to make sure everything was there that either would need while eating.  He nodded to himself and started pushing the cart towards the Master bedroom. 

Waiting a second, he took a deep breath.  Finally he pressed the button for the door to open for him, and walked in with the cart.

Riki cried out from the bed as Iason continued the assault on his body.  His current target was the others chest as he sucked on the left nipple, squeezing the right one between his fingers.  “Iason,” he cried as he shook with pleasure.

“What Cal,” Iason said as he raised his head a bit but didn’t stop what he was doing.

“I’m sorry to interrupt.  I’ve brought your dinner, Master,” Cal said with a bow as he stepped back.  “I’ll take my leave,” he added as he quickly walked out of the room.

Iason smiled when the door closed.  “Riki,” he whispered.

“Pl-ease,” Riki cried as he pushed his head back.  “I need to cum,” he added quickly.

“Of course,” Iason whispered as he started pumping the others shaft.  “Release my pet.”

With no further delay, Riki released in his lovers hand as his body convulsed below Iason.  The long held in orgasm took a few minutes to pass through his whole body.  When it finished he stared up at Iason without a word.

Iason smiled as he kissed Riki’s lips with just a quick peck.  “Cal brought us food while you were busy.”

“Not exactly my fault I was busy,” Riki mumbled as he tried to roll over.  “Could you get off me please?  After that I would really like to lay on my stomach for a bit.”

“Offering yourself to me, Riki?” he asked with a smirk as he removed himself from where he laid on top of the other.

Riki groaned as he rolled onto his stomach.  “I need a break.”

“What happened to you having twice my stamina?”

“Fuck off,” he moaned.  “You’ve done nothing but molest me since we got home,” he mumbled as he buried his head in the pillow.

Iason smiled as he carefully lay on top of Riki.  “You love it though,” he whispered.

He sighed as he looked at the cart Cal brought in.  “You said Cal brought us food?  I’m starving,” he said as he tried to sit up but failed.  “Really?  Do I look like the fucking pillow?”

The Blondie smiled.  “I do enjoy having sex with you, and laying on you.  Perhaps then yes, you do look like as you said, a “fucking pillow”.”

He growled as he was finally able to pull free of Iason.  “Jerk,” he mumbled as he walked over to the cart.

“Riki, go wash up first,” Iason said as he sat up.  “We will pick up where we left off after we eat.”

He moaned as he walked into the attached bathroom.  Quietly he walked over to the sink and washed his hands with a smirk.  After all, Iason didn’t say to what degree he needed to wash up.

Once finished he grabbed a hand towel and looked around.  After a moment he walked over to a large wardrobe along the wall and opened it.  He reached in and grabbed a pair of boxers, quickly putting them on.

He walked back into the bedroom and smiled when he saw that Iason had moved the cart so that it was next to the bed.  “Looks good,” Riki said as he crawled on the bed and then behind Iason.  He leaned against the other, placing his chin on Iason’s left shoulder.  “Feed me,” he said, opening his mouth.

Iason smirked as he raised the fork to the others mouth.  “I have no plan to feed you your full meal,” he said firmly.

The other smiled as he chewed the food.  Once he swallowed it, he leaned back to lay on the bed.  “My ass hurts though.”

“Think about how you will feel when I enter you then,” Iason said as he sipped his glass of wine that he had poured. 

“Pass,” Riki mumbled as he closed his eyes.  He did have to admit that he was surprised the Blondie hadn’t tried to force him like he had in the past.  He opened his eyes to a squint and stared at Iason’s back while the other ate. 

Thinking about it, he smiled as he slowly sat up.  While the other was still an ass hole for inserting his ownership over him, Riki couldn’t help but be happy where he was.  “So what now,” he asked as he once again wrapped his arms around Iason’s nude waist.

Iason glanced sideways at his lover a little confused.  He was starting to think something might be wrong the other based on how he was acting.  “Explain what you mean.”

Slowly he adjusted his head on the others shoulder so his mouth was a short distance from Iason’s neck.  “What will we do now?  What about us?  I mean, you can’t keep me locked in the bedroom forever.”

“Perhaps I can,” Iason replied as he sipped his wine again. 

“Like to see you try,” Riki mumbled as he reached his head forward and licked a line up his lover’s neck.  “We both might go insane then if you try.”

Without any hesitation Iason dropped his fork and spun around.  In the blink of an eye he once again had his pet pinned to the bed.  Long strands of golden hair tickled Riki’s skin as the two remained frozen.  “That wasn’t very smart, Riki.”

“How the hell did that arouse you,” Riki groaned when he felt Iason’s appendage against his thigh.

Iason smiled as he leaned down to kiss the others lips.  “Looking at you arouses me, Riki,” he whispered as he lowered down to attack his left nipple again.

“Wait, wait!  I want to eat still!”

“You should have thought of that earlier,” Iason said as he latched on, letting his teeth lightly sink into Riki’s skin.  He held still while he felt Riki’s body jerk and move around.

…

Quietly Riki stared at the ceiling of the master bedroom.  Every so often he would look at the closed bathroom door, waiting for Iason to come out.  Slowly he turned and looked back up at the ceiling and sighed. 

“Master,” Cal called across the intercom system into the room.

“Come in Cal,” Riki called out.  He glanced down his body to make sure that the sheet was covering his lower half, even though it didn’t really matter.  After all, Cal has seen him naked more times that he could count.

The door slid open as Cal stepped in.  “Pardon my intrusion, Riki,” Cal whispered with a bow.

“Anytime,” Riki mumbled as he closed his eyes.

“Behave Riki,” Iason said as he walked out of the bathroom, fully dressed in his ceremonial attire to be able to speak with Jupitar.

Riki glared at Iason.  “I didn’t do anything.”

The Blondie smiled as he walked over to the bed.  Carefully he reached forward and ran the fingers on his right hand through Riki’s messy hair.  “The odds of you doing something though are high,” he said with a smile.  “Cal, gloves.”

“Yes Master,” Cal said as he quickly ran into the closet to grab a pair of white gloves for his Master.  Quickly he returned and held them out for Iason to take.  “Shall I draw Master Riki a bath while you are away, Master?”

“No,” Iason said as a thought struck him.  He looked past Cal into the closet then at the time.

Riki narrowed his eyes at the other.  “I’m not sitting like this until you return, Iason.  I’m going to wash-“

“Go shower,” Iason said firmly as he stood.  “Cal, come with me.  Riki, hurry up,” he said as he exited the room.

The two remaining were confused.  “Shall I prepare the shower for you then, Riki?”

“Follow him before he yells at us,” Riki mumbled as he sat up.  “Who knows, maybe a screw came lose.”

Cal quietly nodded as he ran to catch up with the blond.  “Master,” he called as he followed Iason’s trail into Riki’s room.  He was surprised when he saw the Blondie digging in Riki’s closet.  “May I help you find something, Master?”

After a moment Iason stopped and turned to the human.  “Riki will need something formal.”

He nodded as he walked into the closet and right to a divided section.  “Will this do,” he asked as he pointed at the clothing.

Iason smiled as he stepped forward.  His gloved hand glided over the clothing as he looked them over.  Finally he settled on an outfit and grabbed it.  “Take this to Riki and have him put it on.  I will return in an hour for him,” he said as he walked past Cal, handing him the outfit. 

“Yes Master,” he whispered as he watched the Blondie walk out of the room.

…

“I feel stupid,” Riki mumbled as he walked next to Iason in the corridors of Eos Tower one.  “Why am I here?”

Iason smiled as he led his love down the hall way.  “You will see.”

Riki sighed as he looked around.  “Where are we anyways?  Swear I’ve never seen this part of the tower before.”

“Only Blondies are allowed in this part of the Tower.  We are within Jupitar’s system right now,” he replied as they reached a door.  “Come my pet,” he said as the door opened.

“Not your pet, Iason,” Riki mumbled as he followed the other.  “Stop callin me your pet or I will turn you into _my pet_.”

Iason stopped and turned to Riki.  In a flash he had the former mongrel pinned to the wall.  “Don’t threaten me, Riki.  I can still over power you and I’m not afraid to punish you.  You might be an elite now, but you are still mine.”

He froze, afraid to move.  After the night they had spent in bed he had no doubt that Iason was still stronger than he was.  “Let me go,” Riki said as his eyes flashed red. 

Iason’s eyes went wide for a split second then smiled.  “Interesting,” he said as he let Riki go.  “Hurry up.”

Riki sighed as he followed after Iason.  “Jerk.”

Quietly they walked to the end of the hallway where it ended in an oval.  A scanner appeared in the wall which scanned Iason’s face.  Next thing Riki knew the ground was raising them up.

Silently Iason snaked his arm around Riki’s waist to pull him closer.  “Don’t look over the edge,” he warned as they went through a couple different holes in the floors above. 

“That would have taken my head off,” Riki mumbled as he looked back at Iason.  “Hey, my ears are ringing?”

Iason nodded after a moment.  “It happens to everyone that comes here for the first time.  It will stop in a few minutes.  Don’t worry, we are almost there.”

 _“Why are you two here?”_   Jupitar asked as the elevator stopped.  She immediately appeared before them as a giant hologram.

“Holy shit,” Riki shrieked as he stepped back, falling on his ass.  “What the hell is that thing?”

The Blondie sighed as he as he glanced back at the other.  “That is Lady Jupitar, Riki,” Iason said as he turned back to Jupitar.  Slowly he kneeled, bowing before her.

_“What is your purpose here, Iason?”_

“I wish to know your purpose with Riki…what you brought him back for and what you intend for his future,” Iason said as he looked up at the hologram.

Jupitar seemed to sit there frozen for a moment.  _“Did you not want Riki to return to your side, Iason?”_

Slowly Riki leaned forward and sat next to Iason.  “Iason?”

“I am happy to have Riki back.  However I do not approve of what you have been doing with him.  I am not sure if you are trying to use him against me or if you have some other goal in mind for him.  Whatever the result you wish to have happen, I want you to end it and release him,” Iason said firmly.

 _“You wish for him to no longer be one of my Elite?”_ Jupitar hummed silently for a few moments.  _“Even if having no further use for him meant that his life would end again?”_

Riki’s eyes widened at the question.  He looked from Jupitar to Iason, afraid to speak.

“It’s alright my pet,” Iason whispered as he stood.  He smiled down at Riki before turning back to Jupitar.  He dropped his smile as he pulled something from his pocket.  “Jupitar, I’m sure you know what this syringe contains.  It’s the exact thing you stopped me from giving to Riki.”

Her image flickered a bit.  _“Yes, I know what that is.  Compound NK16543, created by Raoul Am.”_

He nodded as he pushed his left sleeve up.  Carefully he removed the plastic tip, tossing it on the ground a distance away.  “You will release Riki from whatever plan you have, with his life intact, or I will inject this into my body and join him in the afterlife.”

“Iason,” Riki yelled as he jumped up.  “Don’t, you don’t have to do this!  I don’t care what she wants from me, as long as I get to remain with you,” he said before he realized the words. 

Iason didn’t take his eyes off of Jupitar’s hologram.  “It’s your choice, Mother.”

 _“The effect on you would be minimal.  The damage done to your system would be reversible,”_ Jupitar said after a few moments. 

“Fine then,” Iason replied as he pressed the needle into his porcelain skin.  He watched as the contents of the vial disappeared into his arm.

“Damn it all,” Riki yelled as he watched Iason stumble.  He lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Iason as he started to fall over.  Carefully he pulled his Blondie to the ground, holding him close.  “Help him!”

Jupitar watched silently as the scene unfolded before her censors.  _“Iason has made his choice.  His body will shut down for the time, however once the compound has processed through his body, he will require a bit of work by Raoul.  Once he has finished, Iason will have a completely reset system.”_

“Reset?”

 _“Mongrel, the body you have is my gift to you for assisting me in resolving the issue you caused.  You are welcome to return to the slums or you can die, I do not care at this point.  However if you come anywhere near Iason, you will be killed,”_ Jupitar said as a handful of bio droids came out of seemingly nowhere.  _“Sleep,”_ Jupitar ordered when Riki prepared to defend himself.

His eye lids felt heavy as he held on as tight as possible to the blond.  “Ias..n,” he whispered as he passed out.

…

Raoul stood next to the healing pod Iason lay in.  Quietly he stared down at his friend and brother as the other slept.  “Stupid mongrel,” he mumbled.  “What has he done now,” Raoul said as he checked Iason’s vitals again.

He turned and was surprised to see Iason’s blue eyes staring back at him.

“Iason,” he said with a smile.  “How do you feel, my friend?”

Slowly the head Blondie looked around the room before sitting up.  “Mild headache,” he replied as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed.  “Your lab, Raoul?”

“Yes,” Raoul replied as he offered his friend a glass of wine.  “How does your body feel?  Do you have pain anywhere else in your body?”

“I’m fine,” Iason said as he took the wine and sipped it.  “I’m in your lab?”

The scientist paused.  “Where else would you be?  After all, you decided to inject yourself with poison,” he mumbled. 

“Did I,” he asked before finishing the drink.  “Please summon Darryl, Raoul.”

“Darryl?  Iason, are you sure you’re alright?”

The Syndicate leader narrowed his eyes.  “Elaborate Raoul.  Why do you believe there is a fault in my system?”

Raoul rolled his eyes as he walked over to his terminal.  He removed a data slate and handed it to Iason.  “Your furniture’s name is Cal, not Darryl,” he said as he pulled up Iason’s profile in the system.

Quietly Iason analyzed the information on the screen.  “How have I forgotten this,” he whispered.  “I can’t detect any issues in my systems,” Iason replied as he handed the data slate back.  “Raoul, what happened that I gave myself a poison?”

“Jupitar said that you injected it on accident,” Raoul said as he set the tablet down.  “I didn’t put a second thought to the statement since her droids brought you in.”  He paused while he looked away.  “You would have to ask Riki what happened, from what I gather he we was there when you injected it.”

“Riki,” he asked as he looked up at his brother.  “Who is Riki?”

He quickly looked as his friend with visible surprise on his face.  “You’re fucking with me, right?  A joke for what happened before?”

Iason glared at the other before he stood.  “You sound like a mongrel, Raoul,” he said as he started towards the door.  “Perhaps it’s you who should be on this table getting examined instead?”

Raoul took a moment and collected himself.  It was almost as if the last few years have never existed to Iason.  “Answer me this, Iason.  What happened last year?”

“Last year?  Nothing special that I can recall,” Iason said as he started towards the door.  As he walked, he set the glass down on a table.  “Appears you might need to rest my friend,” he said as the door opened for him.

Quietly Raoul watched as Iason left.  The other not remembering Riki was not going to be a good thing.

…

“You can’t go,” Cal pleaded as he stood behind Riki while he packed.  “Master will be so upset.  Please, I can’t see him like that again,” he said quickly. 

Riki stuffed more clothes into the bag, not wanting to turn around.  “I don’t have a choice.”

Cal shook his head quickly.  “Master will be angry!  You can’t leave, Riki!”

“It’s not my choice, Cal.  I would stay if I could, but I can’t.”

“Master will forgive whatever you did.  He always does,” Cal said, trying to think of anything to make the other not leave.  “You will probably be punished for whatever happened, but he always forgives you.”

Tears slid down the tan cheeks, even as hard as he tried to fight them.  “Cal, it’s not his choice,” he choked, trying not to sound like he was crying.  “I have to be gone before Iason returns,” he whispered.

“Please Riki….”

Silently he stood next to the bed, not saying anything.  “I don’t want to leave him,” he said finally.  “It’s not my choice!  She’s making me leave,” he yelled.  “And she’s making sure I leave,” Riki said as he turned to the younger mongrel.  “Jupitar is connected to me.  She isn’t giving me a choice…she wants me out of Iason’s life.”

The other shook his head.  “But Lady Jupitar brought you back _for_ Master Iason.”

“I’m a fucking antivirus.  She brought me back to cure Iason, and is tossing me aside since he’s fine now,” he said as he plopped on the bed.  “Once I leave Eos, she will disconnect from me.  Once that happens, she will erase me from Eos and I can return to my life in the Slums.  I’ll never see Iason again.”

“But you don’t want that, right?  Can’t you fight to stay here,” Cal asked as he stepped towards the pet. 

He shook his head slowly.  “Jupitar will kill me,” he yelled.  “She has the ability to kill me without having to be near me, Cal.  I’m not making it up when I say I have no choice,” he said as he rubbed the tears off his face.  “I have to go, Cal.”

After a moment Cal gave up and nodded.  “I have some left over food that you can take with you.  I’ll go pack it,” he said as he walked out of the room.  Quietly he walked into the kitchen to collect stuff for his friend to take.

“Cal, I’m setting my bag by the door.  Going to go have a smoke really fast,” Riki called out as he set his bag out of the way in the entrance way.  He started digging in his pockets as he pulled out the cigarettes.  Noticing his lighter was gone, he went for one of the spare ones in the hallway desk.

“Fuck me,” he mumbled as he walked out to the balcony for the last time.  After lighting the cigarette, he leaned on the railing, looking over the city.  He loved the view and being able to come out here to think. 

Silently he stared into space as he watched the lights coming on against the darkening sky.  The soft breeze rustled his hair as he stood there.  Finally he flicked the butt over the edge and turned to return inside. 

Quietly he walked into the kitchen and watched Cal run around.  “I need ta get going,” he said softly.

Cal nodded as he started digging in a cabinet.  “Allow me about 10 minutes, Riki.  I need a few moments to have anything ready for you.”

“Fine,” Riki mumbled as he walked back into the living room.  He froze when he heard the door to the pent house open.  “Iason,” he whispered when he saw the Blondie enter the pent house.

Iason stared at the mongrel reborn elite for a moment.  “And you would be who?”

His heart hurt when the question was asked.  It was obvious to him that Jupitar had erased his memory.  “Good evening, Lord Mink,” he said with a soft bow.  “I was sent by Lady Jupitar to ensure your security is up to standard,” he said quickly.  Slowly he stood straight up.

Silently Iason nodded as he walked deeper into his home.  “Furniture,” he called out.

“Cal is in the kitchen,” Riki said softly.  “Excuse me, I need to leave,” he said as he held back the tears he wanted to release.  He reached down and picked up his bag, running out the door.  He didn’t stop running until he was in the elevator.

Tears streamed down his face when the doors finally closed.  “Evil bitch,” he cried as he leaned on the wall.  He glared at the doors when the elevator stopped.  “The fuck do you want,” he growled when he saw Raoul.

Quietly Raoul stepped onto the lift and glared at Riki.  “What happened between Iason and Jupitar?”

“He pissed her off.”

“Elaborate.”

Riki shook his head as he looked away.  “She brought me back to fix Iason.  That’s it.  Now that he’s running on full power, she doesn’t want me near him anymore.”

Raoul processed for a moment and finally nodded.  He reached into his pocket and removed a mobile phone.  “Understand me now, mongrel; I don’t believe this is in my best interest.  I don’t however want to see Iason in the state he was in before,” he said as he held the phone out.  “He will come to me before he reports any issues to Jupitar.  If I feel he cannot function without you, I will call this phone.”

The other stood there questionably.  Slowly he reached out and took the mobile device and slipped it into his bag.  “Thanks…I think.”

“Don’t thank me,” Raoul mumbled.  “Go meet with Katze.  I will alert him to what happened here,” he said as the elevator stopped.  “Get out,” he added as he stepped aside.

Riki rolled his eyes as he walked out of the moving box.  “Screw you too,” he mumbled as he looked around.  “I can feel her eyes on me,” he whispered.

“She wants to make sure you leave,” Raoul said as he followed the other through the lobby.

When they finally reached the doors, Riki turned to the massive Blondie.  He waited a moment but slowly looked up at him.  “Protect him please,” he whispered before turning and walking out of the gates as they fluttered open for him.

Silently he walked out of Eos tower.  He stared at all the people that seemed to be watching him. 

Ignoring them all, he once again walked to and crossed the invisible line leading to Ceres.

_“Enjoy your freedom, Riki.”_

As soon as her voice finished, he heard an ear piercing screech fill his mind.  He fell forward and his breathing became labored.  “Fuck my life,” he growled as he waited for his hearing to return to normal and his ears to stop ringing. 

It took a bit but finally he was feeling normal again.  Least what he believed to be normal for the body he had now.  He tightened his grip on the bag and started walking again.  “Fucking hell,” he mumbled as he trudged into the remains of Ceres.

He was happy that no one cared about him this time.  After planning ahead, he had grabbed some less flashy clothes from his closet to wear. 

Slowly he turned a corner and walked towards the location he recalled being where Norris lived.  It was after dark so he hoped his friend would be in.  He pounded on the door with a light fist, not wanting to break it.

“Hell you want,” Norris said as he opened the door.  The blond paused when he saw Riki.  “Riki, welcome back!  What are you doing here?”

Riki smiled as he stepped into the apartment.  “Sup,” he said to the other three in the room.

“What happened to your scary Blondie,” Guy mumbled after taking another drink of the bottle of stout. 

“Long story,” Riki mumbled as he dropped his bag.  “Norris, can I crash here for tonight?”

Norris nodded as he reached for his drink.  “Stay as long as you want.”

“Same for us,” Luke asked with a smile.

“You fuckers better leave when your drinks are gone,” he mumbled.

Sid started to laugh as he took a drink.  “So Riki, why do you weigh a million pounds now?”

Riki sighed as he sat in a chair.  He reached for a drink from the table.  “Because I died,” he said as he opened the drink. 

“The hell?”

“What the fuck?”

“This stuff tastes like piss,” Riki said after taking a drink. 

Guy leaned forward on the couch.  “What do you mean, you died?  Did that fucking Blondie kill you?”

He shook his head slowly.  “No, I killed myself,” he said as he set the drink down.  “It’s a long story that I really don’t feel like telling.”

Carefully Guy stood and walked over to Riki.  “Are you still with him,” he whispered.

“No,” Riki replied as he hung his head.  “I’ve been pushed to the side.”

“So where do we stand then?  You and me again,” Guy asked.

“I don’t want to have this conversation right now, Guy.  I’ve had my whole life torn apart in one day and don’t want to talk about the future right now,” he said as he looked up at Guy.  “Go sit down.”

…

Once again Riki sat in Katze’s office.  This time he was lying down on the couch, arm covering his eyes. 

“Are you going to sleep on my couch all day,” Katze asked as he turned the chair to look at him. 

Riki sighed as he rolled on his side against the couch.  “Maybe.”

“Do you wish that Jupitar had cleaned your memory of him,” Katze asked as he stood and walked over to the other couch.  “So that you could be in the same forgetful mist as Iason?”

“Screw you,” Riki groaned. 

Katze smiled as he plopped down on the opposite couch.  “Raoul called me and told me to keep you safe till he needs you,” he said as he lit a cigarette.  “Not sure how I should feel about being his pawn but not like I get a choice.”

Riki sat up and scratched his head.  “Glad you know my pain,” he said as he sat normal on the couch.  “No, I don’t think I would want to lose my memories of Iason.  I still love him.”

“That sucks,” Katze said as he tossed the other the pack of cigarettes. 

He stared at the pack for a moment.  “Katze, do you still have those Dark Moon cigarettes?”

The other was silent as he stared at Riki.  After a moment he sighed.  “They won’t affect you now anyways.  After what happened last time, Jupitar added an anti-poison system to her Blondies.  Since you have the same body as a Blondie, they won’t do anything for you.”

He signed as he leaned his head back.  “How do you kill a Blondie?”

“You don’t,” Katze replied.  “They have to just die on their own.  Or Jupitar remotely kills them.”

“I don’t think she’s connected to me anymore.  I’ve had this buzzing in the back of my brain since I woke up for the first time.  But I haven’t heard it since she said she was disconnecting from me,” Riki explained.

Katze smiled softly.  “Good to know.  If I ever hear buzzing when I wake up, I’ll now assume the worst.”

Riki sighed as he stood.  “Different note, how do we kill Jupitar?  Solve everyone’s issue at once.”

 _“You don’t, mongrel,”_ Raoul mumbled as he faced appeared on the screen. _“And don’t you dare speak that way again.”_

“Fuck off,” Riki groaned.  “How did his call even open without us accepting it?  I didn’t even hear the damn system ring.”

Katze rolled his eyes as he stood up.  “He called over the Syndicate line.  It auto answers for when Lo…when my Master calls,” he mumbled as he walked over to the computer.  “How can I help you, Lord Am?”

_“The specs I sent over.  Have you reviewed them?”_

“I have.  I will upload the information to your system within the next hour.  I need a few moments to finalize the data,” Katze said as he took a seat.

 _“Fine.”_   The transmission cut as suddenly as it came in.

Riki walked over to the desk and sat on the edge.  He glanced over the screens before shaking his head.  “Working for Raoul now?”

The other shook his head as he started working.  “A small project he requested assistance with,” he mumbled.

“Oh by the way, I need somewhere to live.  Know of anywhere?”

The red head shook his head.  “I know a few places, yes,” he replied as he leaned back in the chair.  “Only question is can you afford them.”

Quietly he pulled out his data card.  “Last I checked, she is paying me off,” he said as he tossed the card down.  “Should have money on it I guess.”

Katze reached forward and took the card.  He plugged it into his system and tapped a few keys.  “Unlimited,” he mumbled.  “Kind of wish my account was the same,” he said as he removed the card and tossed it back.

“Funny thing is even as Iason’s pet I didn’t have unlimited.  Wonder why I get it now…almost thought she would just put an amount on it,” Riki replied as he picked up the card and pocketed it.  “Damn it, if I knew that bitch was going to pull this shit I would have refused to let Iason fuck me.”

“Rub it in a bit, you little brat,” Katze as he spun the chair to grab something from under the desk.  “Here, you can stay here while I set something else up for you.  Just don’t make a mess,” he said as he tossed down a digi key. 

“Thanks Katze,” he said as he picked it up and pocketed it.  “Any work you need done?”

Katze nodded slowly.  “I could use some aid on the docks.  Though, you have to get rid of the blond hair again.”

He stared at the other confused.  “Kidding me,” he asked as he pulled on the hair.  “I’m getting really tired of this.  My hair keeps defaulting back to blond, than I spend a freaking hour trying to get it back to black.”

The former furniture smiled.  Quietly he turned back to his computer and started working.  “Take a few devices and work on some of the stuff in the Project files.  There’s a network hub and computer in that apartment.”

…

Silently Iason sat in his seat, watching as the pets came onto stage.  Each one attempted to seduce potential buyers as they sought a new home.

“Good evening Iason, it’s nice to see you well,” Raoul said as he walked up to the other Blondie.  “Enjoying the show?”

He turned his head and nodded to the other.  “Sit down, my brother.  I hope you will help me select of your new supply,” he said as he held up a hand to summon one of the furniture.

Raoul sat down slightly surprised.  He took the glass that was handed to him and filled it with the wine Iason was drinking on.  “It’s been years since you last called me your brother,” Raoul said as he watched the stage. 

“Has it now,” Iason asked as he mused as he watched the next pet come on stage. 

Silently Raoul yelled at himself.  He knew better to say that.  If Iason came unhinged this time, he feared he would not be able to save him.  “Perhaps I’ve just been working too hard recently.  Time seems as if each day has been taking a year.”

Iason chucked as he picked up the flute.  He took a sip of the wine before setting it down.  “What kind of pets have you brought to auction, Raoul?”

He hummed to himself for a moment.  “I am sorry my brother, but I am unsure that any of my creations will do as you desire them to.”

“And what do you believe I desire a pet for,” Iason mused.

“I simply imply that my pets may not be to your taste,” the other corrected.  “If you desire, my brother, I can create a pet to your specifications; no charge, of course.”

Iason tilted his head slowly.  He pondered the thought for a moment.  “Perhaps I will take you up on that offer.  However, I would not be able to take them for free.  I would have to provide you something.  I believe I might take a pair this time as well.”

Raoul smiled as he relaxed in the seat just a bit.  “Attempt to breed perhaps?”

“Perhaps.  Have yet to decide.”

“I have a new creation I am working on.  She is showing traits that most won’t want though,” he said quietly.  “I would be very interested to see how the off springs fair.”

Something caught his eye on stage.  He stared at the dark haired, tanned skinned teen on the stage.  “Interesting,” he mumbled.

“What is,” Raoul asked as he looked at the male on stage. 

Standing before them on the stage was a male that looked almost identical to Riki when he first came to Eos.  He wanted to stand up and drag the boy off stage.  What if he woke Iason’s mind?  Or worse, broke it again.

“In a world so full of pail skinned pets, I’m surprised many are bidding on this pet.  I would think that they would attest such a change,” Iason said as he watched the bids go higher than that of any other pet thus far.  “Sadly he is of no interest to me.”

Raoul wondered what the other meant.  “I think that he would be a good pet to use to tear into other ones.  His physical build and strength appears higher than most pets,” he said as he looked over the data on the tablet before him.

Iason nodded his head in agreement with the statement.  “This is true, however such a pet would do me no good,” he said as the pet was announced sold.

“What kind of pet would you like, Iason?  Soft and gentle, weak and feeble or something else altogether,” Raoul inquired.

“My only requirement is obedience,” Iason said as he viewed the next.  “Honestly none of these catch my eye.”

“My creations should be up soon,” Raoul said as he looked ahead and the coming auctions.  “I believe there may be a male in the group you would be interested in.  He is a similar build to your old furniture, Daryl.”

…

Riki growled as he tossed the thick black plastic toy at the wall.  He fell back on the bed, his body glistening from a thin layer of sweat.  “Damn it all,” he said as he stared up at the ceiling. 

“Having trouble,” Katze asked from the door way.

The former mongrel didn’t even care about his naked ness as he lay on the bed.  “Enjoying the free show?”

Katze smiled as he walked into the room.  He picked up the discarded toy and tossed it back on the bed.  “Not having any luck?  Almost seems like you have not been able to release since you were kicked out of Eos.”

“Fuck off, Katze,” he mumbled.  It wasn’t his fault that he couldn’t release.  Iason was the one that permitted such actions.  It was almost like his body would not comply without his Master…former Master’s order.  “Shit,” he cried.

The red head sighed and crawled on the bed.  He wrapped his left hand around the others manhood and quickly filled his mouth.

He shot up in the bed.  “What the hell, Katze,” Riki yelled, stopping when he felt his body react.  He wanted to force the other off, but skills the other possessed…. He fell back against the pillow and after a minute he cried out, releasing his seed in Katze’s mouth.  “Fuck.”

Carefully Katze sat up and wiped his mouth.  “There, now shut up and stop trying to destroy my apartment.”

He shot up and glared at the other.  “What the hell, Katze?  Iason will skin you,” he yelled, realizing what he just said.  “Damn it.”

“Get your head out of your ass, Riki.  You are nothing to Iason anymore.  You need to hurry up and get over your issues, like the rest of us that have been tossed aside have had to,” he said as he got off the bed.  “I spoke with Iason earlier today.  He has no idea who you even are now.”

Riki glared at Katze.  He stood up and walked into the bathroom.  “Is it really that bad that I still want to be with him?  That I fell in love with a sadistic ass hole?”

“There are plenty more sadistic people on this planet.  Find one of them to play with,” Katze said as he leaned on the door frame to the bathroom.  “By the way, you taste like cheap alcohol.”

“Didn’t expect your oral skills to be so good,” he mumbled as he stepped into the shower to rinse off.

“Who do you think Iason learned from?  His time watching me as I performed on pets, plus watching Daryl on you, though he doesn’t remember,” Katze said as he pulled out a towel and set it on the rack next to the shower.  “Not sure how Cal put up with you, you drive me insane,” he said as he walked out of the bathroom and left the room.  He walked into the living room area and sat at the two computers that where in the room, side by side, and resumed working.

Quickly and quietly he worked as he tried to balance out an error in the books before Iason noticed.  He hadn’t done anything bad, one of his idiots apparently just didn’t know how to do math. 

He sighed and shook his head when the numbers still didn’t work out.  “Damn it,” he said as he kept playing with the data, trying to correct the errors. 

 _“You have a thief, Katze,”_ Iason said as he appeared on the screen next to the computers. 

“Master Iason,” Katze said as he lowered his head and closed his eyes.  “I’m glad to see you well.”

Iason glared at the furniture.  _“Katze, someone is stealing from you which would mean they are stealing from me.  You have the next day to determine who that person is and present them to me, or I will kill you as well as him,”_ he said firmly.

He raised his head slowly as he thought over who it could be.  He had a very short list and it would be easy to figure out whom, once he started looking.  “Of course Master.  I will bring the cuprite to you by tomorrow night.”

 _“As well I would like one of your best men.  My furniture, Cal, needs assistance in preparing the penthouse for my new pets,”_ Iason said as he looked at his nails that were slightly off camera.  _“Have someone be here in the morning.”_

Katze was about to reply when he caught the sight of Riki walking into the room dressed in a pair of loose jeans and a towel around his neck.  His thoughts instantly went dark when he thought about what might be about to happen.  “Yes Master, I will submit the request for entrance into Eos for one of them for your approval.”

The former mongrel stared at Katze.  He had heard the older speak to Raoul a few times, but he always referred to the ass hole as Lord Am.  The only person he would call Master was… “Iason,” he whispered. 

The red head shot him a glare then returned to the screen.  “Is there anything else you would like of me at this time?”

 _“No, complete those two tasks,”_ he said as the call ended. 

“Katze-“

“Don’t even ask, Riki,” Katze said as he stood up.  He rolled his shoulder blades before walking past the other.  “I won’t send you to the lion’s den.”

Riki followed the other as he entered the kitchen.  “It’s not the lion’s den, whatever the hell that is…it’s just Iason!  Come on, I know that place better than anyone you could send!”

He didn’t reply as he started pulling out random items from different places.  Looking around, he shook his head. “If you are going to loiter in my kitchen, help me make dinner.”

“You know I haven’t had to cook anything in almost 4 years, right,” Riki said as he started looking at all the items.

“I’m aware,” Katze replied as he grabbed a pan.  “Jupitar will have both of our heads if I send you into Iason’s apartment.”

Riki rolled his eyes as he leaned on the counter.  “If she wanted me dead, she would have killed me.  She still needs me in order to keep Iason under control, even though he doesn’t know it.  I’m sure if I talked to him-“

“Don’t even think about it,” Katze said as he turned towards the stove and actually started cooking.  “You will get Iason decommissioned at this rate.”

Silently Riki looked away.  After a minute he looked at his hands and balled them into fists.  “I don’t think she will,” he whispered.  “I think she will give in if I threaten to take him away.  Iason even said that he has accomplished much more than any other Syndicate leader...so….”

Katze turned around and tossed a whole egg at the other, who quickly dodged it.  “Don’t you fucking dare, Riki.  You will do _nothing_ that will risk Iason.”

“Why the hell not?  She won’t do anything!”

“I don’t care!  I don’t want to risk the idea of having to answer to Raoul for the rest of my life,” Katze growled as he turned back to the stove.  “Having to deal with him while Iason was indisposed and you were dead was enough,” he said firmly.

Riki paused and leaned back on the counter.  “Sorry Katze, I can’t be away from Iason like that,” he said as he pulled the towel from around his neck.  He used it to quickly clean up the egg and dropped it on the counter.  “Put in the request for me to be the one to assist Cal, or I will hack the system and do it myself,” he said as he walked out to kitchen without a further word.

Katze rolled his eyes as he finished cooking.

…

“Master Iason,” Cal asked with a bow as he approached the Blondie.  “May I get you anything?”

Slowly Iason looked up from his tablet at Cal.  “Ensure that the shopping lists have been updated for the new pets tomorrow.  They will be here earlier than your assistant in the morning.”

“Yes Master,” replied softly. 

Iason thought for a moment.  He watched the servant bow and started to step back.  “Cal, how many pets have I had since you came into my service?”

Cal paused, not sure how to answer the question.  He had been ordered by Raoul to act as if Riki never existed.  But if he answered this question then Iason would call him on it.  “You’ve had one pet, Master.  He displeased you, so you gave him to Lord Am to experiment on,” Cal said quickly.

“Jupitar informed me that the only way to fix the error with my system was to wipe my mind,” Iason said as he glanced down at the tablet.  “Because of this I’m not able to recall the last five years…but I feel something isn’t right; that something is missing,” Iason said softly as his eyes glazed over.  “Cal, you know what I’m missing.”

Slowly Cal lowered to his knees and bowed deeper.  “I’m sorry Master,” he whispered.  “Lord Am modified my mind so that I wouldn’t remember much of the last few years,” he cried.  “I truly wish I could help you remember.”

Iason nodded as he viewed the request sent in by Katze.  He reviewed the profile of the mongrel the red head had sent to him.  “This will be your assistant tomorrow.   If he gives you and trouble, do not fail to report it to me,” Iason said as he handed Cal the tablet.

Quietly Cal took the tablet and nodded.

…

Silently Katze walked into Riki’s bedroom.  He placed a small tablet and simple ring on the bedside table as he eyed the mongrel.  “Just don’t do anything stupid, brat,” he said as he turned and walked out of the room.

…

Riki activated the door bell and waited.  He smiled as the door opened.  “Hey Cal,” he said happily.

Tears fell from Cal’s eyes as he stepped out of the door.  He quickly hugged Riki.  “Master Riki,” he cried.  “I’ve missed you.”

Quietly he rubbed the youngers back.  “Missed you too, kid.  Hope Iason isn’t treating you bad this round.”

Slowly he pulled away and wiped his eyes.  “No, Master’s been kind to me.  I can tell on some level he misses you, but that he…he doesn’t...” he looked down, not sure how to word what he wanted to say.

“That he doesn’t remember me, I know.  I noticed the last time I saw him,” he said softly.

“Cal,” a high pitched voice called out.

The young furniture visibly cringed when his name was called.  Quietly he turned and looked at the girl that was walking up.  “Yes Miss Sakia,” he asked softly.

“I want a bath and I’m hungry,” she complained as she walked into Riki’s view. 

In his mind she was nothing special.  But based on how she was barely dressed, he was able to put two and two together.  “Iason has a new pet,” he whispered.

He turned to the other.  “I thought Katze told you.”

“Cal, I said I’m hungry!  Get me food or I will tell Master!”

Cal turned back to the girl.  “Master Iason will be returning soon to eat lunch.  You will not want to spoil your appetite between now and then,” he said as he stepped aside to let Riki in.  “Go select a scent for your bath, and I will be in in a moment to draw it.”

“Master won’t like it when we tell him you denied us food,” a male said as he walked into the room.

“Shut the hell up,” Riki said as he walked into the pent house.  “Master Iason doesn’t like people that kiss up to him.  You two will be lucky if you last a week here before he tosses you away because of your shitty attitudes,” Riki growled.

The female pet quickly ran over to the male.  “Kian, he’s lying right,” she cried.

The male, Kian, looked down at the girl then back at Riki.  “Why are you in our Master’s home, trash,” he asked quickly.

“Riki, don’t,” Cal said as he immediately stepped between Riki and the pets.  “You will get me in trouble,” he whispered.  “Sakia, go choose a scent for your bath.  Kian, please select your clothes for tomorrows event.  Riki, you can go wait in the kitchen, or the balcony.”

Quietly Riki wondered past the pets and out onto the balcony.  He resumed standing in his favorite spot, looking over Ceres.  There he stood and waited for Cal.

“My apologies for the wait, Master Riki,” Cal said after about fifteen minutes.

Riki turned to Cal and sighed.  “Stop calling me that Cal, seriously.  We’re both mongrels, and neither is better than the other,” he said after a moment.

Cal smiled softly as he shook his head.  “You are an elite, even though you aren’t treated like one.  You were created by Jupitar after all.”

“Please don’t remind me,” Riki groaned as he turned back to the city.  “Be honest, was I that bad when I was a pet?”

“Not that I’m aware of.  I did review Daryl’s logs when I first arrived in Master Iason’s service.  To be honest, I kind of hope that you and I would have a similar relationship to the one you and he had, but I understand why we didn’t,” Cal whispered.

He took a deep breath, thinking of what to say.  “Sorry kid.  Daryl died…no, he was killed because of me.  I didn’t want to risk that happening again.  Sorry if I was cold to you, Cal,” he whispered.  “I just hope I wasn’t that bad to you.”

Cal shook his head again.  Instead he smiled.  “You were fine, Riki.  Aside from the stress you caused me when you disobeyed Iason,” he said with a soft chuckle.

“Let’s get to work, Cal,” Riki said as he rubbed the others head.  “What did you need me for anyways?”

Slowly he turned around and looked in the apartment.  “Master wishes for me to pet proof the pent house.  It didn’t need to be done since you were the pet…you had no risk of doing something dumb,” he explained.

“I say let them get hurt,” he mumbled.  “Iason will toss them out within the next month anyways.”


	5. Chapter 5

The door opened for Iason as he approached it.  He looked around, and stopped when the two pets approached him.

“Welcome home Master,” Sakia said as Kian stopped behind her.

Cal walked in quickly, coming out of a back room.  “I’m sorry for my delay, Master Iason.  Lunch will be ready in a few moments,” he said as he bowed. 

Iason nodded.  “Has Katze’s employee come by to assist you,” he asked softly, ignoring the two pets.

“Yes Master, thank you very much for requesting assistance for me.  A small accident occurred, so he is cleaning up in the bathroom,” he explained as he stepped aside for the Blondie to enter the dining area.  “Would you like anything to drink while I serve lunch?”

“White wine,” Iason said as he removed his cloak.  He watched as Cal walked towards the

Kian stepped forward so he was next to the girl.  “Master, Cal’s been mistreating us in your absence,” he explained.  “He refused to take care of us.”

Iason glanced at the pets then at his furniture.  “Cal, is that true?”

Quietly Cal poured the wine then walked over to Iason, offering the glass.  “Yes Master Iason, I refused to feed them before you arrive for lunch.”

The Blondie was silent for a moment while his mind processed the information.  He accepted the glass and headed towards the dining room.  “Cal, finish lunch,” he said without a care about what the two said.

“Yes Master,” Cal said as he walked into the kitchen.

“Master,” Kian cried out as he followed the Blond.  “You won’t let him get away with this, will you?”

Iason quickly turned and narrowed at the male pet.  “You wouldn’t dare challenge me, _pet,_ would you?”

Sakia covered her mouth as she watched on.  “Kian,” she whispered.

“No Master,” he whispered as he stepped back.

“Cal, where are my clothes,” Riki called from a back room.

The call caught Iason’s ear.  “Tell him it is not proper to yell in someone else’s home,” Iason growled.

The furniture blushed as he quickly ran towards the bathroom.  “Riki, shush.  Iason is here,” he whispered.  “I’ll bring your clothes in a moment, please wait here while I serve lunch,” he pleaded as he ran into the kitchen.

Iason narrowed his eyes when he heard Cal call him by his first name, with his enhanced hearing.  He wouldn’t punish the furniture for not giving into the pets, but he would for the lack of respect.

He glanced up when he saw Cal walk in with three plates.  The blond was about to open his mouth when he froze.  “And you would be?”

Cal turned around quickly, almost dropping the plates.  _“Riki,”_ Cal hissed.

“Why are you naked in my home,” Iason said as he turned to Riki who was only wearing a towel. 

“Lord Mink, I would like to speak with you in privet,” Riki said quickly.  “I refuse to leave until you have a conversation with me.”

The furniture was barely able to set the plates on the table before he dropped them.  “Master Iason, I’m sorry.  This is Katze’s man,” Cal said as he tried to push Riki back to his privet bathroom.  “Please Riki,” he whispered.

Iason turned to the almost naked male.  “State your purpose and who you are,” he said firmly.

“Katze sent me regarding conversation that those two will gossip about,” he said as he indicated the two pets.  “In your office, there is a way to ensure that no one is able to hear us, Lady Jupitar included,” he said after a moment of silence.  “Cal, can you grab my pants?”

Cal narrowed his eyes.  “ _Just go get dressed_ ,” Cal hissed before he realized it.  Once he did, he covered his mouth.  “I…I’m sorry,” he whispered as he stepped back.

“Nice back bone,” Riki laughed. 

Iason narrowed his eyes.  “Cal, retrieve his clothes.  Once he is dressed, lead him to my study,” he said as he started towards his home office. 

“You’re going to get me decommissioned,” Cal groaned as he walked down the hallway.  “Come on, pain in the butt,” he called over his shoulder.

Riki chuckled as he followed the other.  He was starting to like this new Cal.  “Cal, I could kiss you right now,” he said with a smile.  “You know, if you can keep this up then I might ask Iason if I can take you to bed one day.”

Carefully Cal pulled the clothes from the cleaning system.  “Pass,” he mumbled as he handed the older mongrel his clothes.  “I will get decommissioned in that case.”

Laughing, Riki got into the leather pants.  He didn’t bother to put the shirt on because he didn’t think it would remain on for long.  “If this doesn’t work, see you in a few minutes.  If this does, who knows,” he said as he turned down the hallway.

The two pets watched as the half-naked male walked down the hall.  They both had been warned that they were to never go into Lord Mink’s office.  But yet this man was about to enter?  “Trash,” Kian mumbled.

Riki flipped him off as he walked to the door.  He knocked on the door and waited.

“Enter,” Iason called.

…

Jupitar’s system hummed actively when she detected Iason and Riki in the same region. 

 _“He’s going to ruin everything,”_ she said as she tried to connect to Riki’s mind. 

An error rose up in her matrix that didn’t allow her.  She tried again but received the same message again.

 _“Mongrel,”_ she warned her matrix lighting up.

…

Katze leaned back in his seat as he let out the lung full of smoke.  “Don’t make me regret this, little shit.”

He sighed as he closed his eyes.

…

He took a deep breath before opening the door.  After a moment he stepped in and closed the door. 

“What is it you want,” Iason said as he stared out the window.

“You,” Riki replied as he walked towards the desk in the office.

Iason glanced at the reflection in the mirror.  “You’re still not wearing any clothes,” Iason said before taking a drink of the wine. 

Riki smiled as he plopped down in a chair in front of the desk.  “Since when have you ever wanted me to wear clothes,” Riki mumbled as he situated in the seat.

“Excuse me,” Iason said as he turned around.  “I don’t recall permitting you to sit down.”

The mongrel rolled his eyes.  Instead of standing, he kicked his feet up onto the edge of the desk.  “To answer your question, my name is Riki.  I’m Jupitar’s newest creation,” he said as he played with the ring on his middle finger. 

“And your purpose for coming before me,” Iason asked as he sat at his desk.  Knowing that he was one of Jupitar’s creations changed things a bit.  Though, the fact that he didn’t seem to have been programed with manors was going to annoy him. 

“Don’t worry, she didn’t create me to kick you off your throne,” he mumbled.  “She created me for a different reason,” Riki said as he adjusted in the chair.

Iason watched the other move but didn’t acknowledge anything.  “And just what is your purpose?”

“Mommy wiped your mind because of a glitch to your system,” Riki said with a smirk.  “Do you know what your glitch was?”

Iason narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything.

Carefully Riki jumped up and walked around the desk.  He stood next to Iason, then leaned against the desk.  “Guess that means no,” he laughed.  “You fell in love with someone.”

“Love?  Blondies are created without such useless emotions,” Iason said firmly.

“You created them all on your own.  You tried really hard to deny them, but you gave in after a while.  When all was said and done, you forced your pet to sleep with you,” Riki said, trying to hide the bitter taste in the back of his throat.

Iason sipped his wine and closed his eyes.  “I have no idea what you speak of,” he said firmly.

“Of course you don’t, because Jupitar wiped your mind, idiot,” Riki said as he pushed off the desk and walked to the window.  “Swear she took some of your brain power too,” he mumbled.

In the blink of an eye, Iason had Riki pinned to the glass from behind.  _“Watch what you say, or I will kill you,”_ he growled.

Riki froze for a moment.  Memories flooded his mind for a brief moment of Iason pinning him in the past in this same position.  “Do your worst,” Riki whispered.

The blond caught himself as he felt his body react to the other.  “What,” Iason whispered as he stepped back.  He lowered his right hand to his pelvis, noticing that he was getting hard for seemingly no reason. 

“You’re aroused,” Riki said as he turned.  “You said before the sight of me arouses you,” Riki said softly.

Iason ignored the other as he sat at his desk.  He rubbed his hand over his pelvis.  Instantly he felt a surge run through his body.  “What is going on,” he mumbled.  “Cal, get me Raoul,” he called out.

“Cal can’t hear you, Iason,” Riki whispered as he kneeled down before Iason.  He reached forward and pulled on the body suite, ripping the fabric.

“What do you think you are doing,” Iason growled.

“Shut up,” Riki replied as he pulled the appendage free from its hiding spot.  Without a word he started pumping the shaft in a perfect rhythm to affect the Blondie.  “Your body reacted so quickly because even though she keeps erasing your mind, she can’t erase your body,” he said before taking the whole length in his mouth.

Iason couldn’t help but react to the actions the other was performing.  Never in his life could he recall ever feeling something like this.  It was almost painful as his body did what Riki wanted it to.  “Stop,” Iason panted.

Instead of responding verbally, Riki nipped the appendage to silence him.

“What’s…happening…malfunction…” Iason stuttered as his climax built up.  Within moments he released in Riki’s mouth.

Riki leaned back and fell on his bottom.  He quickly caught the drip that was falling from his mouth.  “Seems like you were really pent up,” he mumbled.

The blond breathed hard for a few minutes.  “I’ll have you decommissioned,” Iason said as he started tapping on the keyboard.  He froze though when he saw Riki stand.

He smirked to himself as he undid the leather pants he was wearing.  Without a care in the world he pulled the pants down and kicked them off away from him. Once out, he sat back down with his legs spread wide, giving Iason a perfect view.

“What do you think you are doing,” Iason asked.

Silently Riki started stroking himself.  He closed his eyes half way, still able to watch Iason’s reactions.  Now it was a waiting game.  All he had to do was wait for Iason to realize the truth.

He couldn’t take his eyes off the tanned skinned elite.  No matter what he did, he couldn’t help but watch as he performed.  After a few deep breathes, he noticed that he was also playing with himself.

Finally Riki threw his head back.  “Iason,” he cried.  He took a few more deep breathes following his seed spilling out. 

Carefully Riki stood and wobbled over to Iason.  “I want you in me,” he whispered.  “Just like you used to,” he added as he crawled onto the Elites lap, straddling him.  It took a few seconds but he lined up the Blondie and allowed him to penetrate.

Iason let out a moan he wasn’t expecting.  “W-what,” he said followed by another moan. 

“Please,” Riki cried.

The one word seemed to push Iason over the edge.  He held onto Riki as he stood.  Once standing he laid Riki on the desk and started ramming hard into him. 

“Fuck,” Riki cried as he felt the power Iason was letting out.  He had been used to Iason being gentle to him, but this time it seemed as if he was going off primal need.  “Iason, you’re hurting me,” he cried out.

He didn’t care.  He couldn’t care.  A voice in the back of his head told him to keep going and take what he wanted.  And right now, the only thing he wanted was to engulf himself in this new feeling.

“Stop already,” Riki cried.  “Shit,” he yelled out in frustration.  “This was a stupid idea,” he said as he tried to pull away.

“Enough,” Iason said as he pulled Riki back into place.  “You aren’t going anywhere.”

Riki yelled out again.  “Iason, you’re seriously hurting me.  You said you would never hurt me again like this so why the hell are you being so hard on me?  I’m trying to help you!”

Iason stopped when he heard a knock of the door.  Instead of replying, he growled.

The door opened with a beep symbolizing that a system over ride code had been used.  “Iason…” Raoul paused when he saw his friend had Riki pinned to the desk.  “Interesting.”

“Hey Raoul, how you doing,” Riki asked as he looked at the other from his upside down position. 

“What are you doing here, mongrel,” Raoul said as he stepped forward.

He tried to squirm free but Iason still had a grip on him.  “Well, I came here to save Iason, but I think I broke him instead.  He’s kind of hurting me right now,” Riki replied as he gave up.

Raoul sighed as he closed his eyes.  “Iason, if you don’t mind, would you please let the pest go?”

Iason refused to let the other go.  He didn’t want to give up this feeling.

“Iason, don’t make me have to use an override code on you as well,” Raoul said as he sat down in a chair by the desk.  “Release him.”

Silently Iason glared at the other.  After a few moments he removed himself from Riki.  “Why are you here, Raoul,” Iason said as he watched Riki slide off from the front of the desk.  “Why did you interrupt me?”

“Where are my pants,” Riki mumbled to himself as he scanned the room. 

Raoul rolled his eyes at the scene.  “The scan I have running on you showed signs of agitation.  I thought I would come by and suggest a game of billiards, but instead I find you molesting this idiot,” he said as he indicated the former pet.

“I heard that, Raoul,” Riki growled as he walked to the door after finding his pants.  “Cal,” he called into the hallway.  “Can you bring me a different pair of pants please?”

“Three minutes,” Cal called out from somewhere.

The golden blond sighed as he shook his head.  He glared at Iason who was still standing with his manhood out.  “Would you please cover yourself, Iason?  You stand there like a mongrel.”

Riki growled.  “I take offense to that, Raoul.”

Raoul stared at the former pet.  “Until you put some clothes on, you are my example.”

“Kind of damaged my pants, jerk,” Riki mumbled as he just walked into the hallway and started towards Cal’s room.  “Cal, it’s cold in here,” he called out.

Silently Iason fixed his clothes as best he could thanks to the hole in his pants.  To show he didn’t want to be concerned about it, he fixed his hair before sitting down.  “Raoul, exactly what is going on here?”

Raoul sighed as he stared at his friend silently.  “Not so sure you would understand if I explained,” he mumbled.  “Come, we need to go to my lab,” Raoul finally stated as he stood.  “But please go fix your attire.”

…

Riki mumbled as he dug through the box of his clothes.  Cal had packed them all and put them in storage to keep them safe.  He had taken most of the clothes he liked with him when Jupitar had given him the boot.  Most of these ones he thought Iason bought as a joke.

Finally he pulled a pair of pants out that were looser than he liked.  He slipped into them and made sure they would stay on.  Finally he grabbed a shirt and put it on.  “Damn,” Riki mumbled when he caught himself in the mirror.  “He chose some horrible clothing,” he laughed as he walked out of the room.

“Tell me you left the clothes in the box,” Cal said when he saw Riki walk into the kitchen. 

“Yeah yeah,” Riki said as he jumped up on the counter.  “Sounds like Iason and Raoul are talking it over.”

Cal shook his head as he kept working on the fruits he was cutting.  “They left about ten minutes ago,” he mumbled.

“Cal!  We’re hungry,” Kian called out.

Riki rolled his eyes.  He wanted to go teach these two spoiled pets a lesson.  Obvious that Iason had not yet actually met these two pets.  “Do you think he would get mad if I took them downstairs and left them there,” he mumbled.

“Yes, I think Iason would be angry,” he said as he grabbed a serving plate.  “One thing I do like about getting to deal with brainless pets is that I don’t have to worry about aesthetics.  True I didn’t worry about it too much with you, but I really don’t have to with them.”

“Ouch,” Riki said as he jumped off the counter.  Without a care he followed Cal out of the kitchen. 

The two pets glared at the duo.  “About time you finish, worthless furniture,” Kian said with a glare.  “Wait till we tell Master.”

Without a word Cal set the two plates on the table before the pets.  He turned around and watched as Riki walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink.  “Are you serious,” Cal mumbled as he walked forward.

“What?  This bottle was a gift to me after all,” he said as he downed the glass of bourbon. 

Cal displayed a smile that sent a quick shiver down Riki’s spine.  “You do recall you have to ask Iason before consuming alcohol, correct?”

“Cal, you can be really fucking creepy,” Riki mumbled as he put the bottle back on the shelf.

The furniture kept his smile for an extra few seconds.  Finally he turned around and walked back into the kitchen. 

Kian laughed as he slipped a slice of fruit into Sakia’s mouth.  “Stupid trash,” he said with a smirk.

“You know what you little waste of space, keep laughing.  You mean nothing to Iason and you never will.  He has no real interest in you,” Riki said as he stepped forward.  “And once everything returns to normal, neither of you will be here any longer.”

Tears collected in Sakia’s eyes as she looked from one mail to another.  “Kian, he’s joking, right?”

“Of course, Sakia.  Master would never listen to something like _that,_ ” Kian said with a smile as he prepared another slice of fruit. 

Riki was about to retort when the door opened and chimed. 

“Cal,” Iason called out.  He stopped when he saw Riki.  Rather than say anything, he nodded to the former pet.

Quickly Cal ran into the dining room.  “Welcome home Master,” he said as he glanced around.  “May I fetch you anything?”

Iason’s eyes danced over each person.  After a moment he spoke again. “Take these two to their rooms, as well as their lunches.  Then prepare four spaces at the table and serve lunch.  Riki, those clothes are hideous.  Find something else to wear.”

“You’re the one that chose them,” Riki mumbled.

“Those are far too big for you.  Find other pants to wear,” Iason said as he turned towards the door.  “Raoul, would you like wine or something stronger?”

“Dealing with your pet, the hardest thing you have,” Raoul mumbled as he walked into the pent house, followed by his own furniture.  “I believed your furniture could use some assistance,” he added when Jan took his coat.

Riki growled as he glared at the other Blondie.  “I’m not his fucking pet, jack ass,” Riki said as he walked towards the storage room to dig in the boxes of clothes again.  “Fucking Blondies going to drive me insane!”

Silently Cal nudged his head towards the two pets.  “Sakia, come and I will prepare you a bath.  Please Jan, would you pour drinks?”

Feeling ignored, Kian walked over to Iason.  This was his chance to gain the favor he needed.  “Master, Cal and that mongrel have been mistreating Sakia and me,” he pouted.

The Syndicate leader glared down at the pet.  “Raoul, you designed this one.  Is there a way to shut off his uncontrollable whining?”

“Drugs or decommission, that is the two choices you have,” Raoul mumbled.  “Jan, I will have something stronger.”

“Yes Master.  Lord Mink, what would you prefer,” Jan asked as he looked over the bar.

Iason sighed as he rubbed his temple.  “Ice water and whatever dose of medication Raoul says is best,” he mumbled.  “Pour a glass of what Raoul is having for Riki.”

“Master,” Kian started but an icy glared stopped him.

“You may want to stop talking, else Iason might kill you,” Riki said as he returned to the room in a pair of skin tight jeans.  “Are these a better choice for you?  I don’t like the color,” he mumbled as he ran his left hand over the dark blue material.

Iason smiled as he pushed past the annoying pet.  With his right hand, he mixed his fingers in the black hair.  “Behave, Riki,” Iason growled.

Riki smirked as he pulled free.  “Welcome back.”

“Not quite,” Raoul said as he accepted the drink from his furniture.  “Go put that pet somewhere,” he said as he walked over to the table. 

“Yes Master,” Jan said as he led Kian away, not caring about the protests of the pet.

Riki glanced at Raoul then back to Iason.  “What’s he talking about, Iason,” Riki whispered.

Silently Iason kissed his lovers fore head.  “Take a seat, Riki.  Also, stop drinking without permission,” he said when Cal came out with water and pain medication.  “Thank you Cal.  Please serve then sit as well.  Also, add a place for Jan.”

With a bow, Cal went on his way. 

Riki gave out an audible tsk before walking over to the table.  He plopped down in Iason’s normal chair.  “So what did you do to my Blondie?”

With a roll of his eyes, Raoul sipped his drink.  “I have no reason to explain anything to you, mongrel.”

“Ass hole,” Riki growled.  “Iason, what’s going on already?”

Silently Iason walked over to Riki’s seat and carried it to next to his.  He sat close enough to the former pet that he could still reach him without any issue.  “Enough Riki, wait until Cal is done,” Iason said as he watched the two furniture quickly server lunch.  “Raoul, if you would.”

Raoul nodded as he pulled out a data slate and a digital display.  The digital display loaded a 3D picture of Iason’s head.  After a moment it changed to just be a brain.  “To put this simple for the one with a smaller brain,” Riki growled in reply to this comment, “Because of the multiple clears and wipes of Iason’s mind, he is slowly shutting down.”

“Shutting down,” Riki asked as he looked at his blond.

“I was able to load previous memories to his mind.  However even then….”

Iason started playing with Riki’s hair.  “Essentially I am slipping.  It’s possible I will wake up one day not even knowing who I am,” Iason said without a concern.  “Because of this, I am stepping down from the Syndicate and cutting tries with Eos,” he said just as quickly. 

“Can you really do that,” Riki asked in a barely audible whisper.

He smiled softly.  “Yes Riki, I can.  Jupitar has, as you would say, fucked with my mind for far too long.  I want to do nothing at this point but relax with you in my arms.”

Riki rolled his eyes as he leaned back.  “You really are broken.  So fucking mushy,” Riki said as he looked at Iason.  “Will you be able to live without being in charge?”

“Yes,” Iason said softly.  “Cal, I would like you to take a week and pack everything that we need.  For now we will be going to the Villa to get out of Eos.  We will also need cleaning teams to go through the Villa,” Iason stated to the furniture.

Cal nodded slowly as he glanced around the apartment.  “Yes Master…but…what will happen with Sakia and Kian?”

“She’s cute,” Riki mumbled as he looked away.

The other pulled the black strands.  “Not for you, Riki,” he growled.  “I’ll sell them; I have no use for them.  All I need is Riki.”

Raoul shook his head as he started on the lunch.  “For now, Iason needs to be available to me so I can continue to monitor him.  I am putting forward an expectation that you two will not fornicate in the meantime.  I need his brain to be acting normal, not as if he’s constantly aroused.”

“You understand I have no control over him, right,” Riki mumbled as he pointed at his head while Iason continued to play with the strands.  “Fucking jerk can’t keep his damn hands to himself.”

Iason smiled as he released the strands and started eating his lunch.  “Raoul, they were your experiments.  You are welcome to take them back or give them to someone, I don’t care.  Honestly I would rather them just be out of here as soon as possible,” he said as he sipped the wine.  “Cal, a rose wine seems it would match this meal.”

Silently Cal stood.  “Yes Master,” he said as he ran to the bar.  Quickly he ran back with a new glass of wine.  “Anything else I can get you, Master?”

“I recall asking for rose wine, not a Merlot,” Iason said with a glare.

Everyone paused and looked at the Blondie.  “Iason, that is a rose wine,” Riki said with a raise of a brow.

“Riki, do not challenge me,” Iason snapped.  “Cal, rose wine.  Now.”

Cal froze as he looked at the glass.  After a moment of hesitation, he looked at Raoul.  “Lord Am…I….”

The elite watched on as his mind processed the interaction.  “I believe you mean pinot, Iason.  Remember, your mind might have issues associating things together.”

Riki turned to look at the other.  “So he’s asking for one wine but wants a different one?  This is going to be annoying as fuck,” he mumbled.

“Do not tell me of my limitation, Raoul,” Iason warned.  “Not to mention in front of my furniture and pet.”

“Stop being an ass, Iason.  Cal is trying to help and you’re just attacking him over it,” Riki said as he chewed his food.  He swallowed then continued.  “This is the same poor _furniture_ that has taken care of both you and me for the last few years, and will be helping your entitled ass in the future.”

The look on Iason’s face made both Cal and Riki’s blood run cold.  Without a word Iason stood, towering over both males.  “Pet,” he growled.  “You have no standing to use my name, talk to me that way, or use profanity.”

“Excuse me,” Riki said as he jumped up.  “I’m not your pet, Iason.  We’ve talked about this a million times.”

Iason seemed to think for a moment.  “Cal, take Riki to his room and bind him to the punishment wall,” Iason said as he grabbed the glass of rose wine. 

Again Cal paused.  Slowly he walked around to Riki’s back and hid behind him a bit.  “I can’t, Master.”

With a sigh Raoul stood and stepped away from the table.  “Jan, pour Iason a glass of water,” he said firmly.  “Riki, for the moment go to the bedroom.  Cal, go pack the pet’s for them to be taken away tonight.”

“Raoul, you aren’t taking my pet-“

“Iason, you need to sit down.  Your mind is mixing details up,” Raoul said as he pulled Cal away in case Iason lashed out.

Riki started to walk away just to stop a few feet away.  He turned around and stared at Iason with hurt eyes.  “I’m not sure I can deal with this,” he mumbled.

Quietly Iason watched as tears rolled down Riki’s race.  He walked over to Riki and pulled his lover into a kiss.  “Don’t cry my love,” he whispered after a minute.

“Iason…I can’t…it hurts when you get mad at me,” he whispered.  “I can’t go through this again.”

“What would you have me do, Riki?  I don’t know if my mind will ever stabilize again,” Iason said as he pulled his former pet close.  “Tell me what I can do for you.”

Without a word Riki laid his head on Iason’s shoulder.  There was nothing that could be done to make this work out.  Iason was broken in ways that could never be fixed.  “I don’t want to be the one to say it…but….I think we need to be apart,” he whispered as he gripped the others clothes.  “Which fucking sucks after everything I’ve gone through to get back to you.”

The biochemist nudged Cal who nodded before running off.  “Jan, go assist Cal.”

“Yes Master,” Jan said as he ran to catch up with his friend.

Iason tightened his grip on the other.  “Riki, listen to me.  I want to be with you tonight at the least.  Tomorrow you can go back to Katze’s place and stay there.  In the meantime, Raoul can do what he needs to in order to try and return me to a permanent state of mind,” he said quickly as he glanced at Raoul. 

“You’re getting rid of me again,” the former pet whispered. 

“Never.  Riki, you are mine forever.  I told you I would drill that fact into the very marrow of your bones, and I believe I have,” he replied before kissing the black locks.  “I don’t want you to suffer, Riki.”

Raoul rolled his eyes as he headed towards the door.  “When you two are finished, send Jan back to me with the two pets,” he said as he headed towards the door. 

The other Blondie didn’t wait.  He quickly scooped Riki in his arms and headed towards the Master Bedroom.  “I love you, Riki,” he said as he set Riki on the bed.  “Wait here,” he added before turning and leaving the room.

“Could have at least let me finish eating if you were just going to skip off,” Riki mumbled as he lay down on the bed.

In the end it didn’t matter if he ate or not.  He had found that his body could keep going with no issue even if he went days without food or sleep.  He really only ate to feel normal.

Fifteen minutes later Iason wondered back into the room with a silver tray and a slip of paper.  “Hope I wasn’t too long for you, Riki,” Iason said as he set the tray on the edge of the bed.  Quietly he walked over to his side of the bed and set the paper on the bedside table. 

“What’s that,” Riki asked when he saw the note. 

With a smile, Iason started stripping.  “Nothing you need to worry about my love,” he whispered as he crawled on the bed.  “I will leave this night to you, we can proceed as you want to.”

He sat up and pulled his shirt off.  “So if I want to tie you up and fuck you all night?”

The blue eyes narrowed before he sighed.  “If you really wanted to, yes,” he mumbled.  “I would rather you didn’t though considering what’s to come.”

“Lay down on the bed, Iason,” Riki growled as he reached for the tray.  He looked over the selection of snacks and smiled.  “Honestly I’m not in the mood for any of this,” he said as he set the tray on the bed side table.

Silently Iason moved on the bed so that he was in the middle. Slowly he lay back and watched his former pet.  “What would you like, Riki?”

“I’m not hungry,” he mumbled as he sat next to Iason.  He looked over the naked body before him and smiled.  “I know exactly what I want though,” Riki said as he crawled onto of the blond.  Happily he lay down on top of the other.  “You’re such a hard pillow.”

Iason chuckled as he wrapped his arms around his former pet.  “Normally I would disagree with this, but I think I love you too much.”

“Last I checked, pillows don’t talk,” Riki growled. 

Without a care, Iason rolled onto his side, taking Riki with him.  “I love you so much, Riki,” Iason whispered before capturing the others lips.  “I want us to be together forever.”

“Why are you being so mushy…and so talkative,” Riki asked once the kiss let up. 

“Perhaps I’m having a moment where I’m a different version of myself,” Iason whispered as he started kissing Riki’s neck.  “Perhaps a version of me that’s in complete and uncontrollable love with you.”

Riki rolled his eyes as he pulled free of the clingy elite.  “Iason…you’re a crappy pet,” he mumbled.

A smile appeared on Iason’s face as he looked up at Riki.  “Of course I am, Riki.  Play as much as you want, I will never be your pet.”

He sighed as he triggered the lights and turned them down.  He grabbed the sheet and pulled it up to cover them both.  Once again he laid on Iason and nestled between the blonds arm and chest.  “I just want to sleep, Iason.  I haven’t been able to sleep without you,” he whispered as he closed his eyes.

“Sleep well my Riki,” Iason said softly.  “I promise I will always protect you.”

…

Cal carefully hung his Master’s clothes in the small closet.  It was by no means suitable for a Blondie, but he didn’t need much clothing right now. 

He turned quietly and walked over to Iason’s bed side.  He sat down next to the bed and waited.

Iason had been asleep for three days.  Raoul said that the other elite would be out for a few days.  His estimate was a full week.

The hard part was that during this time frame, Riki was not allowed in Eos.  After the stunt he had pulled, Jupitar had banned his ID from the system.  And since he couldn’t come in and Iason couldn’t leave, the two never saw each other over the week they had been apart.

The young furniture slouched in the chair a bit.  He had set up everything needed quicker than he thought it would.  The move was done; even the villa was unpacked and ready.  Now he just needed to wait for his Master to wake up.

“Master, I hope you and Riki get to be together soon,” he whispered. 

“If you are going to be in here, you need to remain silent,” Raoul growled as he walked into the room. 

He instantly shot up in the seat and lowered his head.  He was about to apologize but kept his mouth closed instead.

The Biochemist tapped the screen of the terminal next to Iason.  He turned and checked a few different vitals on the other.  “Have you seen any movement from Iason?”

Cal jumped in the chair.  “No...No Lord Am, I haven’t seen anything,” he whispered.

“Few more days then,” Raoul mumbled as he wrote some notes down.  Once he was done, he exited the room.

Quickly Cal followed after him.  “Lord Am, may I ask how Master is doing,” he asked as fast as he could but then paused.  “Riki wanted me to keep him updated,” he added.

“If everything proceeded correctly, when Iason wakes, his mind will be fresh.  He will know basic functions as we are programed with those when created, but he will have no memory of anyone or anything related to his life,” he said as he turned.  “That means keeping the mongrel updated is pointless other than telling him Iason is alive,” Raoul finished as he walked towards his privet home office.

Slowly Jan walked up to his friend.  He could tell the other was past defeated.  “Hey, don’t worry.  Master will make sure Lord Mink is fine,” he said with a smile. 

Cal nodded slowly as he turned back to his Master’s room.  “I know.”

…

Riki looked over his shoulder at the group of men that surrounded him.  He caught the eye of each one as he got into a defensive stance.

“You’re going down, Riki,” one of the men said as he smacked a pipe against his bare hand.

Twenty-three versus one?  Riki couldn’t help but smile.  “Do your worst,” he said with a smirk. 

A brawl started when some of the men jumped towards Riki.  With little effort he took them all down one by one and in some cases two at a time.

“I think you guys got weaker,” Riki mumbled when all his opponents were on the ground. 

Katze shook his head as he walked up.  “Not sure why you keep picking on gangs in Ceres,” he said as he stepped around the unconscious bodies.  “You didn’t kill any, did you?”

Riki smiled as he turned to Katze.  “No, they’re all still alive,” he said as he looked around to double check his statement.  “Plus, the gangs keep challenging me, not the other way around.  They all know they have no chance.”

“Come on, looks like someone actually landed a hit,” Katze said as he tapped his own right cheek.

Without a word Riki obediently followed Katze. 

For two weeks, this is how it had been going.  In the morning he would go with Katze to get shit done at the Black Market then skip out in the afternoon to go hang with Bison or beat up some random gang.  It was all he could do while he waited for the call from Cal.

“Fucks for dinner,” Riki mumbled as they walked towards Katze’s apartment.  “Surprisingly I used a lot of energy out there trying to hold back.”

The red head sighed as he entered the code to the apartment.  “You don’t even need food, Riki.  Iason went a year before he asked me to actually make him a meal,” he replied as they walked into the apartment.

“Ya so,” he mumbled.  “I want food and need sex,” he said as he plopped down on the couch.  “Two fucking weeks.  What the fuck is taking so long,” Riki whispered.

Katze shook his head as he walked into the bathroom and grabbed the medical kit.  It was technically his fault since he said the taboo name first.

He had been told by Raoul it should only take a week, two max, but apparently Iason was still asleep.  This meant that he had to put up with Riki’s whining and moaning even longer.

“Sit up, brat,” Katze said when he returned to the room.

Slowly Riki sat up and let Katze bandage his wound.  “This blows dude,” me sighed.  “I need Iason,” he growled.

Katze nodded as he stood.  “Trust me; I want you and him together again.  Gets you the hell out of my life again,” he said firmly. 

“Maybe someday,” he whispered as he lay back down.  “Cal hasn’t even checked in with me over the last week.  What the hell is going on in Eos?”

“We’ll never know,” Katze said before walking towards the kitchen.  “I don’t feel like cooking,” he said as he pulled out a cigarette.  “Go get us some food.”

Riki growled out.  “You’re the furniture, you go get it.”

He lit the cigarette and waited a moment.  “Ever notice, unless running an errand, furniture stay home?  Think about that one, Riki.”

Finally he jumped up and walked to the kitchen.  “Ass hole.”

…

Cal walked into the bedroom and froze.  “Master….”

Slowly Iason turned his head to look at the small figure in the door way.  He tilted his head a bit as he tried to put a name to the face.  “I’m sorry, you are?”

The words hurt but he had been expecting them.  Tears fell from his face at a speed he couldn’t control.  “Lord Am,” he cried before running to the bed’s edge.  “Master Iason, I’m happy you’re awake,” he cried.

Raoul rushed into the room.  He smirked as he walked into the room.  “How do you feel, Iason?”

“Iason…is that my name,” the blond whispered.

As expected.  “Yes, you are Iason Mink,” Raoul said as he walked over to the terminal.  “Your vitals seem solid,” he noted. 

Quietly Cal stood and ran over to the small bar in the corner of the room.  He had been instructed by Iason to provide a glass of wine when he woke up.  He quickly poured the red wine and took it to Iason.  “Master, my name is Cal, I’m your attendant.  You requested I bring you a glass of wine when you woke up.”

Raoul watched quietly for a moment.  “Cal, go call Katze so he can tell the pest.”

“Yes Lord Am,” Cal said as he exited the room to call the other. 

“Is that your name?  Lord Am?”

He shook his head.  “No, I am Raoul Am.  You and I were once best friends,” he said as he sat down in the seat next to the bed.  “Tell me Iason, what do you remember?  What memories do you have?”

The other looked down at his hands as he gripped the sheets.  “Nothing,” he whispered.  “I can’t remember anything,” he said softly.  “Raoul, what happened to me?  You said we were once best friends….”

Raoul took a deep breath.  He reached onto a table and grabbed a tablet.  “You recorded this for yourself and requested that we have you watch it.  It should answer questions you are wondering about,” Raoul said before he stood.  “Once you know what you want to do, let me know.”

…

Riki wondered into the apartment and dropped three bags on the table.  He dug in the closest and pulled out a fresh roll.  “Katze, get your ass out here.”

Slowly Katze walked into the living room, holding two glasses of a brown liquid.  He held the glass out and waited.

“What’s this for,” Riki said as he took the glass. 

The red head took a moment before speaking.  “Cal called.”

He froze.  Two weeks of nothing and finally something.  “What…what did he say?”

“Iason woke up a few minutes ago.  According to what Cal said, Iason has no memory of anything so that means it worked,” Katze said as he leaned on the wall.

Joy and sadness…love and fear.  Different emotions riled up in Riki’s body as he thought about what the results meant.  Tears rolled down his face as he smiled.  “When is Raoul letting him out?”

“He just woke up kid, give him some time to remember how to breath,” Katze said as he downed the drink. 

Riki took a deep breath before wiping his face on his sleeve.  “All I need is video feed,” he said softly.

“Shut up already, Riki,” Katze growled.  “Eat your food and go to sleep.”

…

“Cal,” Iason called out.

Quickly Cal ran into the room.  “Yes Master,” he said with a gentle smile. 

Iason pulled the blankets that were covering his body, to the side.  “Select clothing for me to leave Eos.”

The furniture nodded slowly.  “Master, will we also be recovering Master Riki?”

“Perhaps,” he mused.  “How did he and I interact?”

Cal smiled as he grabbed an outfit from the closet.  “There are times that Master Riki hates you to no end, but then there are times he is head over heels for you,” he said as he held out the outfit for the Blondie.  “Do you need assistance getting dressed?”

Iason shook his head.  “I believe I can manage this on my own,” he said as he stood.  “Is the Villa ready?”

“Yes Master,” he said softly as he stepped back.

“Good,” Iason whispered as he got changed.  He paused when he realized he had no idea how to put this outfit on.  “Cal.”

The teen chuckled as he stepped forward.  He quickly corrected the outfit and stepped back.  “May I get you anything, Master?”

The Blondie shook his head as he walked over to the closet and grabbed boots.  “I will speak with Raoul.  In the meantime, pack this up and get ready to leave.”

“Of course,” Cal said softly.

After slipping into the boots Iason headed out of the room and to Raoul’s office.  “Raoul.”

The Biochemist turned to his friend.  “How’s your head, Iason?  Have you had any twitches?”

“No, I don’t believe she has tried to contact,” Iason whispered.

“Or she can’t,” the other said with a sigh.  “Iason, if you ever need anything from me, please don’t hesitate to ask me.”

Iason smiled happily.  “If I need anything, I will reach out.”

…

Riki stood on the second floor balcony staring over the water.  The sun had started to set and he still hadn’t seen Iason. 

He held a cigarette to his lips and sighed.  He wanted his blondie and wanted him now.

“Riki, you need anything,” Katze asked softly.  “If not, I’m heading out.”

“No, I’m fine.  Thanks for hanging man,” Riki said as he tossed the still burning cigarette over the edge. 

Katze waited a minute.  “Call if you need me.”

Slowly Riki walked into the villa, activating the door to close behind him.  He plopped down on the couch and closed his eyes.  If Iason was going to take all night, he was going to take a nap.

“Cal, could you ensure that everything is stocked in case we don’t leave for a few days,” Iason said as he walked into the living room.  He froze when he say Riki lying on the couch.

“Course Master,” Cal said as he walked up behind the other.  “Excuse me,” he said with a smile before sneaking off.

Quietly Iason walked over to Riki and stared down at him.  Carefully he ran his fingers through the black locks.  “Riki,” he whispered.

The other mumbled something in his sleep but didn’t open his eyes.  He adjusted on the couch a bit.

Without a moment of waste, he picked up Riki.  Carefully he carried his pet to the hallway and froze.  “Cal, where am I going,” he called out.

Cal ran into the room and pointed at the stair way.  “Third floor, Master.  Left at the top of the stairs and the door will open for you automatically.”

Iason nodded in thanks as he started up the stair case.  He held the other close, taking in his scent.  Happily he followed the directions Cal provided and found his way to the bed.  Carefully he placed Riki on the bed and sat in a chair. 

Iason knew that Riki would understand.  He had told himself so in the video he recorded.  He wanted to start over with the other and be a good lover, not an abusive one.  Even if it took all night, he would sit there and watch over him.

“What time is it,” Riki mumbled as he rolled on the bed.  Slowly he sat up and looked at the Blondie.

“Sorry, I don’t know,” Iason replied quietly.

They sat quiet for a moment.  Finally Riki spoke up.  “Are you still defective?”

“Raoul didn’t indicate there was any issue,” he whispered.  “He said I was cleared but should still be monitored.  Cal was trained to be able to monitor me in the meantime.”

Riki nodded as he stood.  He walked over to the chair and sat on the others lap.  “So what happens now?  Where do we stand, Iason?”

He reached up and ran his right hand through the black hair.  “I don’t know, Riki.  I don’t remember anything about you.”

An evil smile appeared on Riki’s face.  He looked up into the blue eyes.  “You’re mine, Iason.  I have every intention to show you that you are my pet.”

“Nice try,” Iason mumbled as he tugged on the hair.  “I made a recording for myself before Raoul started.  I apparently thought it was important to note that you would try that,” he said with a smile.

Riki hummed for a moment.  “Your eyes…they look different,” he whispered.  “You are acting weird too.”

He nodded.  “I haven’t connected to Jupitar.  Raoul said that he deactivated that part of my mind so that I would never connect again.  Since I haven’t connected, the limited emotions I have are still intact.”

“What’s that mean for us though?”

“I will show you how much I love you, Riki.  It might be hard at first since you have memories that I do, but I will try to catch up,” Iason said softly.

Riki waited a moment.  “Can I fuck you?”

“No.”

“Will you fuck me?”

“No.”

Riki sighed as he pulled free from the blond and stood.  “I think you’re broken still,” he mumbled.  “Turning down sex…what the hell?”

Iason smiled softly.  “Let me be honest, Riki,” he said as he stood.  “Right now, you mean nothing to me.  Having sex with you would mean nothing to either of us,” he whispered.  “I need to fall in love with you first then we can talk.”

He growled when he walked over to the bed and fell backwards.  “Not sure this is going to work for me very well.  I need to get laid.”

“Raoul also mentioned that I should avoid anything that would cause my body exertion.  According to him, touching you would do that to me,” he said as he headed towards the door.  “Sleep if you need to.”

“If you can’t touch me…where are you going to sleep,” Riki asked softly.

He took a deep breath.  “It was my plan to sleep with you still, to lye next to you.  Unless you would like for me to sleep in a different room,” he whispered.

Quietly Riki crawled in the bed and under the blankets.  He didn’t reply.  He had just got the other back and it hurt to be rejected.  Of course he knew the Blondie wouldn’t remember him but this still hurt.

…

Cal sat a small plate on the table next to Iason.  “Anything else I can get for you, Master?”

Iason looked up from his book and glanced at the treats laid out.  He shook his head slowly.  “Cal, you don’t have to call me Master.  You can just call me by my name,” he said before looking back at his book.  “Riki will probably be asleep for a while so please relax for the night.”

“Yes sir,” Cal said as he turned towards the kitchen.  After cleaning up he walked into his room and looked around.  He paused but reached out and grabbed a book form a shelf.

Quietly he carried it to the living room.  He sat down on a couch a distance away from Iason and started reading it.

The blond chuckled lightly.  He noticed the furniture look up with a slight fear but just shook his head.  “It’s nothing, Cal.”

By the time Riki stumbled into the living room, Cal was curled up asleep on the couch.  The mongrel was confused at first but smiled.  “Kids in my seat,” he mumbled.

Iason glanced up and smiled.  He closed his book and stared at the other.  “Did you sleep well?”

“No,” Riki replied.  “I’m use to a complete ass hole clinging to me when I try to sleep.  Normally I sleep like shit while he sleeps like a fucking rock,” he said as he sat on a smaller couch.  “I’m hungry.”

“We could go out for a late dinner,” Iason mumbled. 

Riki smiled softly.  “Are you asking me out on a date, Iason?”

He snapped the book shut.  “Go get dressed, Riki.  We can go grab something to eat and we can talk.”

“Stop ordering me around,” Riki said as he adjusted on the couch a bit. 

“Riki,” Cal whispered as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.  “Can I get you anything?”

He shook his head.  “No Cal, go back to sleep.  I think you need it more than anyone else.”

Iason stood and set the book down.  He turned down the hallway and walked into the Master bedroom to change his own clothes.  After a few minutes he returned to the room in a simple outfit that would suit for going out.  “Come Riki,” he said softly.

With a sigh, Riki crawled off the couch and waddled down the hallway.  He changed into leather pants and a simple shirt.  He slipped into boots and headed into the room.  “Let’s go already,” he mumbled.  “Cal, want anything while we are out?  Fuck, wanna come along?”

The teen paused.  “No thank you, Riki.  Thank you for asking.”

“Fine.  If you change your mind, call him,” Riki said as he slipped into his jacket.  “Where are we going?”

He slipped the cape on and turned on his heels.  “Somewhere quiet,” he said as he started walking.  “Come on, Riki.”

“Yeah yeah,” Riki mumbled as he followed.  “Later Cal!”

They exited the villa and stepped into a waiting car.  Without a word they flew into Midas and landed in a parking structure designated for elites only.  They both got out and started walking around town.

Riki started playing with the fabric of the cape.  “How are you feeling, Iason,” Riki asked softly.

“I’m fine,” Iason said softly.  He lifted the right side of his cape to wrap is arm around Riki’s waist.  “I’m glad you care enough to ask.”

The mongrel scoffed.  “I’ve never not cared, ass hole,” Riki said as he leaned in a bit.  “What do I have to do to talk you into having sex with me?”

Iason chuckled lightly.  “Are you really that horny,” Iason asked softly.

“It’s been a month since I last got any.  Last thing I did was give you fucking oral.  And what did I get in return?  Nothing,” Riki replied as he pushed back on the other.

“Perhaps if you behave tonight I will consider returning the favor,” Iason said as he directed the pet towards a high end restaurant. 

Riki rolled his eyes.  “I don’t want to go anywhere near that place.  Let’s go somewhere better.”

“Better?”

“Somewhere with the name of foods I can pronounce and food is normal,” Riki said as he directed the blond towards the mid-level area of Midas.

Iason glanced at the building Riki was walking him towards.  He raised a brow when he saw someone walk out stumbling.  “What is this place?”

He smiled as he pulled free.  “A bar that has damn good food.”

They walked in and Riki led them to a booth in the back.  “Riki….”

“What,” he mumbled as he plopped down. 

Iason stared at the table before crawling into the booth next to the other.  He was careful to spread the cape so he wouldn’t get his clothing dirty.

The other rolled his eyes.  He grabbed a menu and started looking over the choices.  “You’re being prissy again.”

“Excuse me?”

“You won’t get sick if you get dirt on you, Iason,” he mumbled as he set the menu down in front of the other. 

Iason closed his eyes for a moment.  “This table hasn’t been washed in hours.”

Riki smiled as he leaned forward and crawled towards Iason.  “Guess what,” he whispered as he slithered his hand into the pants.  “I haven’t washed my hands in hours either,” he whispered as he reached for the appendage.

He closed his eyes as he felt the fingers.  Iason grabbed Riki’s hand to make him stop.  _“Enough,”_ Iason growled.

Riki smiled as he leaned back.  He pulled his hand free and licked his fingertips.  “Calm your ass, Iason.  This is a sex bar.  No one cares if you and I sit here and get busy,” he said with a smile.

“Riki, is that why you brought me here?”

“I brought you here cuz it’s good food,” he mumbled.  “Sexually assaulting you is a bonus.”

…

Riki stormed into the villa a distance before Iason.  He saw Cal running towards and shook his head.  Silently he walked towards the room and straight into the bedroom.

The furniture watched as Iason walked in as well.  “Master?”

“Let him vent.  He’s angry with me,” Iason said with a sigh.  “Cal, bring me wine please,” he added as he walked back towards his seat. 

“Of course,” Cal said as he walked into the kitchen.  After pouring the wine he brought it to Iason.  “May I get you anything else?”

Iason smiled softly.  “Cal, relax.  As I said before, you can call me by my name.  I’m no longer an Elite,” he said as he picked up the book. 

…

Riki sat against the back wall of the shower as the water splashed at his feet.  He brought the cigarette to his lips and took a deep breath of the toxic fumes. 

This wasn’t right.  He didn’t want to play this game anymore.  He needed to find a way to either get Iason in his life the correct way or…he would just have to leave. 

But, was it bad that he wanted to be abused by Iason?  He wanted his lover back and wanted him now.  He didn’t want to play this game anymore.

Tossing the butt across the shower, he crawled into the spray.  This way the tears didn’t show on his face as they fell.

“Riki,” Cal called as he knocked on the door.  “Can I get you anything?”

“No kid,” he called out as his voice broke a bit.  “Just deal with Iason.”

“As you wish,” Cal whispered.

Riki took a deep breath as he crawled into the bathtub within the shower.  He relaxed into the water to try and calm down.  He stared up at the ceiling towards the higher window.

The door opened causing him to sigh.  “Cal, I said I didn’t need anything,” he called out, closing his eyes.

“Good, because Cal isn’t here,” Iason said as he stepped into the shower.

Riki looked up and raised a brow.  He was surprised to see the Blondie was naked.  “Iason….”

“I decided I wanted to take a shower,” he said as he turned the water on and set the temperature he wanted.

“You know this place has like five fucking bathrooms, right,” the mongrel mumbled.

Iason smirked as he stepped under the waters spray.  “You do recall that this is _my_ bathroom, correct?”

The other didn’t respond.  Instead he sank lower into the tub and closed his eyes.  “Whatever,” he mumbled.

His eyes opened abruptly when he heard the water moving and felt something brush against his arm.  “What the hell,” Riki exclaimed as he darted forward in the large tub.  “What are you doing?”

Slowly Iason sank into the water and leaned against the back of the tub.  “It’s my bathroom and I wanted to relax in the tub.”

“Fuck off,” Riki yelled as he stood in the water.  “I don’t know what your deal is….if you think this is just some kind of sick joke or what!  It’s my body you are fucking with, again!”

“Riki,” Iason hissed as he narrowed his eyes.  “Sit.”

“Screw you!”

“ _Riki,_ ” Iason repeated.

A pang hit Riki’s heart at the way his name was said.  It was the same way Iason said his name when he was in trouble…when he was going to get punished for something he didn’t do.  “Screw, you,” Riki responded as he started to get out of the tub.

In less than a second, Iason was standing behind Riki and had wrapped his arms around him.  “Behave, Riki,” Iason whispered into his ear.  “You don’t want to do anything stupid you might regret later.  You wouldn’t want to be punished, would you,” he added as his hands started to explore the body before him.

“Iason,” Riki whispered as he became confused.

“Relax, pet,” Iason said as he pulled the other back into the water.  “Rest in my arms, Riki,” Iason whispered. 

“Iason,” Riki repeated as he adjusted between the others legs.  He turned his head and stared his brown eyes into Iason’s blue eyes.  “Are you back?”

Iason smiled before kissing Riki’s forehead.  “Yes my love, for now anyways.  I’m sorry I hurt you.”

“You didn’t,” Riki said as he re adjusted against Iason and relaxed.  “Iason…what do I have to do to keep you with me this time?  I don’t want to lose you again.”

The blond smiled as he pulled the other close.  “There’s nothing we can do, Riki.  My promise to you is that I will always love you,” he whispered.  “Let me help you relax better, Riki,” he said straight into Riki’s ear as he reached down between the mongrel’s legs.

He drew in a hard breath.  “Iason…not here,” he said softly.

“Do you want to be on the bed?”  He felt the other nodding as his body shook.  “Alright,” he acknowledged as he stood.  “Come, my love,” he said as he kissed Riki’s hair.  “Can you walk?”

“Yeah,” Riki mumbled.  He was set on the ground and grabbed a towel.  “Dry off,” he said as he tossed the towel at the blond.  Happily he grabbed a second towel and walked into the bedroom as he dried his body.  “I swear to you right now, if you go loopy on me in the middle of this, I will tie you down and do it myself,” Riki said firmly.

Iason chuckled as he walked into the room.  “Get on the bed,” he said as he smacked Riki’s bare behind with his hand.

“Ow!  Really, freaking abusing me,” Riki said as he crawled on the bed.  “Fucking jerk,” he said as he plopped down.  “You better make it up to me.”

The former head of the Syndicate stared down at his pray without a word.  After a moment he licked his lips causing Riki’s blood to run cold.

“Fuck.”

…

The door opened for Katze as he walked towards it.  He stopped just out of the doors range and stared at Riki who was crouching, moving stuff around on a lower shelf.  “If you break anything, I’ll bill you for it.”

“I’m sure you will,” Riki mumbled as he finished what he was doing.  Finally he stood up and stretched his legs.  “Even with this body, staying like that for too long hurts like hell,” he mumbled.

“What were you doing?”

Riki picked up a messenger bag and put it on his shoulder.  “A certain ass hole got bored and finished my work while I was asleep.  So I came in to switch those tablets out for other ones to work on.”

Katze sighed as he stepped out of the way so Riki could scan out of the room.  “That was two weeks’ worth of work,” he mumbled.

The other started laughing as he held the watch up to the scanner.  It took a moment then beeped, opening the door.  The only person the doors opened automatically for was Katze.  After all, when you have access to technology like this, why not use it?

“I didn’t tell him to touch it.  I didn’t even tell him it existed.  But between Iason and Cal, they finished it all while I was taking a fucking nap,” Riki said with a sigh.

“Cal too?  I don’t recall there being anything that special about him,” Katze said as they both headed towards his office.

“No, Cal finished the one I was working on while Iason did all the others,” he mumbled.  “Guys bored and I’m his favorite toy, and my work is his second favorite toy,” he complained as they entered the office.

Katze laughed as he sat at his desk.  “You might tell him that I pay you for time on a project, but then I don’t want a visit from him if he’s angry.”

“Not like the pay matters.  It’s not like before where I was saving up while hoping to get away from Iason.  I had my chance and I couldn’t do it.  Now it all goes into a ‘Just in Case’ account,” Riki said as he plopped on the couch.  “Though it’s funny messing with Iason about the budget he laid out.”

“Excuse me,” Katze asked, confused by what he just heard.  He was fairly certain he had misunderstood the other.

Riki nodded his head.  “Yes, Iason Mink on a budget.  I mean think about it, he’s not getting all that money from the Syndicate anymore.  His bank account is shrinking like never before,” Riki explained.  “Who knows how long he and I will live for, so he decided that the household needed a budget.”

The red head was surprised by what he was hearing.  There was no way he could image Iason living in such a way.  Not after the lavish luxuries he was accustomed to.  “My mind can’t understand this,” he mumbled as he pulled out a cigarette. 

“I know, it’s nothing like the Iason we know.  But that’s how I mess with him – I fudge the numbers a bit so that they don’t add up right,” he said with an evil gleam in his eyes.

“You know I could turn you in,” Katze said firmly.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Katze smiled.  “Though I don’t talk to Iason much, I do still have a way to contact him.”

Slowly Riki stood as he thought about how to counter that statement.  A thought hit him once he was standing.  “You tell Iason, and I’ll tell Raoul you have dreams about him.”

The red heads face instantly matched his hair.  “How the hell would you know anything like that?”

“You talk in your sleep,” Riki said as he headed towards the door.  “Talk to you later, Katze,” he said as he left, bag in hand.

He happily walked out of the office building and slipped on the sun glasses.  He looked around and headed towards Ceres.  With a small pep in his step he kept walking and walked into a bar.  “Hey guys,” Riki said as he slid into the booth with Sid and Norris.  “Where’s Luke?”

“Either off working or getting some,” Sid said with a smile.  He picked up his bottle of stout and downed a quarter of it. “What you up to?”

“Just wasting time before heading back,” he said as he held up a hand to order a drink.  “Fucking tired as hell,” he said as he leaned back on the seat.

Norris started to laugh.  He stood up and slid over to Riki’s side.  “I can help you with some of that,” he said happily. 

Riki smiled as he glanced at the blond.  “You’re going to get killed if you get too close to me.  Iason will take your head off.”

“Listen to him, Norris.  I’m an example of what happens when you cross that bastard,” Guy mumbled as he walked up to the group.

Slowly Riki looked up at his former partner.  It was hard to forgive him.  After everything that had happened between them, then what happened at Dana Bahn…it seemed like a nightmare. 

Riki shook his head as his drink was delivered.  “Kirie is the best example,” he mumbled.  Iason had told him which he hadn’t really cared. 

Norris leaned back against the seat.  “I think I want to live, thanks,” he mumbled.

Riki smiled happily as he started on the drink.  “Now now children,” he said with a smile.  “Anyways, I got shit to do.  Move your ass, Norris.”

“You just got here though,” Sid growled. 

“I wanted a drink before I got home,” Riki mumbled as he stood on the seat.  He jumped over the seat.

Guy raised a brow.  “Don’t you have good stuff back at home?”

“Fine, I wanted to make sure you losers were still alive and kicking.  Forgive me for caring about my guys,” he said as he walked towards the door.  “Later.”

After just about thirty minutes, Riki was walking into the villa.  “I’m back,” Riki called out.  “Iason!”

Cal walked into the entry hall of the manor.  “Welcome home, Riki.  Iason is in the second bedroom.  I believe he is having his weekly call with Lord Am.”

Riki nodded slowly as he mixed his fingers into Cal’s hair and rubbed his head.  “Thanks Cal,” he said softly.  “Katze says Hi also,” he said as he started towards the stairwell to the second floor. 

Silently he walked into the office when the door opened for him.  “Hey,” he said softly.

Iason looked up and smiled.  “Welcome home, Riki,” he said softly.  “Did your meeting with Katze go well?”

“Ya,” he said as he pulled the bag off and set it on the desk.  “Vibe I got from him, if you want something to do that’s more challenging, he can help you with that.”

“I have no intention to work for my former furniture,” Iason said as he leaned back in his chair.  “The only reason I completed your work was I wanted to test my mind out.  I didn’t expect the work to be so easy.”

Riki rolled his eyes.  “Ya, easy,” he said as he plopped down in the chair next to his own smaller desk.  “Jerk,” he mumbled.  Even after everything Jupitar had done to him, his mind still functioned like normal.  He didn’t have the ability to compute things like Iason could.

“I love you too,” Iason chuckled as he closed the book on his desk.  “What shall we do for dinner tonight?”

Silently Riki leaned back in his chair.  “Based on the smells that hit me when I got home, I think Cal is ahead of us on that question.  Smells really good downstairs,” he mumbled.  “I have a thought though.  How about for dessert you and I play a game.”

“A game?”

Riki turned and smiled a sadistic smile.  “I want to take you, Iason.  I wanna watch your body spaz like you make mine,” he said as he stood.  “How about it?”

“I’ll think about it,” Iason said with a soft smile.  “For now, how about a show?”

“In your dreams,” Riki mumbled as he turned to walk out of the room.  “Give me one and I’ll consider giving you one,” he called over his shoulder.

…

Riki and Raoul traded glares from across the table.  They were waiting for Iason to join them so that dinner could be served.

“Still being an ass hole,” Riki asked as he reached for his glass to take a drink of water.

Raoul raised a brow.  He looked over the former pets features and smiled.  “I see Iason has been treating you about the same as always,” he replied.

A large smile popped up on Riki’s face.  “Least he’s getting some.”

“Not interested,” Raoul replied as he reached for his glass of wine.  “I don’t see the appeal.”

The other started laughing at the words.  “Isn’t it funny that Iason became obsessed with sex and you don’t see the “appeal”?”

“Will you two behave,” Iason said as he walked into the dining room.  “I would like it if you two would at least try to be civil when in the same room.”

“But we are playing nice,” Riki mumbled.  “About time you got out here though.  Thought we were gonna starve.”

Iason smiled as he walked over to his lover.  He reached down and kissed Riki’s lips.  “Thank you for coming, Raoul.  It’s fairly difficult to get to Tanagura without Jupitar stopping me, as you know,” he said as he took his seat between the two at the head of the table. 

Raoul nodded to his friend.  “It is no worry, my friend.  I am here to support you when you need me.”

The mongrel rolled his eyes.  He glanced up at Cal as the young furniture came in with two pates.   “Yes, food,” Riki said happily.

Cal shook his head.  He walked over to Raoul and set the plate before him then one for Iason.  Quickly he ran to the kitchen to grab Riki’s plate.  “Anything more I can get, Master?”

“Your plate,” Iason said as he pointed at the empty seat next to Riki. 

The teen paused before glancing at Raoul.  Finally he nodded and walked into the kitchen to get his plate.  Quietly he walked back into the room and sat next to Riki.

Raoul glanced at the furniture then back at Iason.  “You allow your furniture to eat with you?”

“I do, yes.  Cal has been very loyal and a very good friend.  I see no reason he should suffer for it,” Iason said as he started eating.  “What was it you wished to speak with me about?”

“How bored have you been, Iason,” Raoul asked as he started eating.  He watched out of the corner of his eye as Riki reached his fork over to Cal’s plate and took a carrot.  “I can only imagine you need something to spend your time on.”

Iason sighed as he looked at Riki.  “Riki, behave.”

He turned and smiled at the blond.  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, I have had a bit of time on my hands.  It is hard to find things to do other than reading,” Iason said as he reached out to sip his wine.  He closed his eyes for a moment then looked around.

“Iason,” Raoul asked as he set down his silverware, concerned for his friend.

Riki glanced at Iason then at Raoul.  He sighed and reached for Iason’s left hand that was sitting on the table.  “Iason, do you remember the conversation you were having?”

The look on Iason’s face softened.  He looked at Riki for a moment then back at Raoul.  “I’m sorry Raoul,” Iason said softly.  “My mind disconnected.  What were we discussing,” he asked as he brushed Riki’s hand.

Raoul was silent for a moment.  He made a mental note about the display before him.  “I was about to offer you something to do in your off time.  However after this scene, I’m not sure that it would be a good option for you.  Iason, how often does that happen?”

The blond shook his head then looked at Riki.  “Love?”

“Dozen times or so,” Riki mumbled as he took his hand back.  “He just kind of zones out like that and sometimes doesn’t return right away.”

Raoul sighed.  “I need to get you to a lab, Iason.  I need to run some tests on you as soon as possible.”

“I will not return to Eos, Raoul,” Iason said firmly.  “I will not give Jupitar the chance to connect to me again,” he growled.

Riki set his fork down and stood.  He walked over to Iason and wrapped his arms around the other’s shoulders.  “Iason, relax a bit.  I know Raoul’s an asshole but you don’t need to bite his head off,” Riki whispered. 

The other blond was silent again.  “I will have a scanner brought in here and installed in your office.  I can use it to examine you and you can use it for work if you decide to,” Raoul explained as he ate a bit more of the food.  He reached forward and picked up his wine. 

Cal quickly stood and grabbed a bottle of wine to re fill the glasses.  “Lord Am,” he whispered as he filled the glass. 

“Cal, can you get me something strong to drink,” Riki asked as he ran his fingers through the golden strands.  After a few minutes he sat back down at his spot. 

Iason waited a moment.  Finally he reached forward and grabbed Riki’s glass of water.  He took a drink, finishing the liquid.  “I have no office set up.”

“I can have one set up, Iason.  Don’t worry, I will take care of it for you,” Raoul said softly.  He tapped on his wrist terminal and put in a few orders.  “I’ve requested a team to come through and convert a room into an office for you.  They will be here tomorrow.”

Riki groaned as Cal handed him a glass.  “There went sleeping in, huh,” Riki mumbled as he started eating again.

Iason smiled softly as he turned to Riki.  “I can help you sleep through it,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

“Fix him please,” Riki said quickly to Raoul.  “I even said please,” he added.

“I heard you, pet,” Raoul mumbled.  “I will be back in two days to check on you, Iason,” Raoul said as he stood. 

…

Slowly Riki wondered down the stairs wearing only his leather pants.  He had to stop before falling forward down the stairs.  “Damn,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his head.  He stopped on the second floor and stared at the droids moving in and out of the room.

“The fuck,” he mumbled as he looked around.  “Cal,” he called out.

Quickly Cal ran up the stairs to the other.  “Riki, Iason said you weren’t to be disturbed.  Did the droids wake you,” he asked softly.

He shook his head.  He looked at the droids then back at Cal.  “No, I woke up on my own.  What are they doing?”

“Setting up the home office,” Katze said as he walked into the hallway.  “You should put some actual clothes on.”

Riki rolled his eyes.  “I’ve been gifting Iason with a better view then this.”

“Riki, behave,” Iason said while walking up the stairs.  He walked up behind the mongrel and set his hand on the middle of his back.  “You should rest longer.”

“Why do you always tell me to behave?  I’m not even doing anything,” he growled.

Katze and Cal locked eyes for a moment.  It wasn’t hard to tell something was going to end badly.

Softly Iason smiled.  “Go back to bed, Riki.  You only slept for a few hours last night.”

“And why is that,” Riki asked as he turned to the blond.  “Who was it that wouldn’t stay still for longer than 5 minutes and kept _moving me_ in his sleep?”

“If I recall correctly, you kept moving into my spot every time I got up,” Iason explained.  “Katze, what is the time frame?”

Katze froze for a second, startled.  “Should be done within the next two hours, Master.  Once the droids are done I will let you know so we can test the system.”

Iason nodded.  “Cal, is breakfast ready?”

“Ah, yes.  I can serve when ready,” Cal said quickly.  “Shall I serve?”

“Please.  Set a plate for everyone.  I’m guessing Katze hasn’t eaten this morning,” Iason said softly.  “Riki, you should really go back to sleep for a bit longer.”

Riki shook his head and yawned.  “I’ll take food, thanks,” he mumbled.  “I’m going to go take a shower really fast,” he said as he headed up towards the Master Bedroom.

Silently Cal snuck past Iason and down the stairs.  He ran to the kitchen to get food ready for everyone.

“And Katze,” Iason said before turning.

“Yes Master Iason?”

“If you ever touch Riki again, I will kill you,” he said as he started down the stairs.

Katze remained silent as his blood ran cold.  He didn’t have to ask, he knew the threat was real.  “Fucking Riki,” Katze mumbled as he turned back to the maintenance.  He double checked the progress and headed down the stairs to the dining room.

Cal ran around setting out plates on the table.  This way everyone could choose how much of what they wanted.  “Master, what would you like to drink?”

“Coffee will be fine,” he said as he sat down at the table.  He closed his eyes and waited silently.

Riki slid down the railing of the staircase.  “Did you change out my shampoo again,” Riki called out as he walked towards the dining room.

“It has a horrible smell,” Iason replied without moving.  “Use the stuff Cal ordered.”

“I don’t like that stuff.  It makes my skin feel weird,” Riki mumbled as he plopped down in his seat.

Iason was silent for a moment.  “It’s called clean, Riki.  If you don’t like it, Cal can find something else for you.”

Riki was silent while he watched Iason.  “Hey, you okay Iason,” Riki asked quietly.  “You look like shit.”

He opened his eyes a bit.  “Come here,” he replied as he held a hand out to the mongrel.

He hesitated in reply.  Finally he got up and crawled on Iason’s lap.  He carefully laid his head on the blonds right shoulder.  “Iason?”

Carefully Iason wrapped his arms around the smaller frame.  “I just want to hold you,” he whispered.  “Though I wish you had taken that shower.”

Riki chuckled.  “I showered last night.  Was more to wake me up than anything.”

“Perhaps you should go back to sleep as I said before.”

“No, I’m fine.  Though you are kind of making me hot,” Riki mumbled.  “That means that you are warm.”

The Blondie started playing with Riki’s hair.  “Once the office is done, Raoul will be able to check how my systems are running.  Perhaps I should have just gone to Eos with him,” he mumbled.

“But then Jupitar might connect to you, right,” Riki asked.  He started playing with some of the lose strands of the others hair.  “That would be bad.  She might try to do something against us again.”

Iason nodded slowly.  “I can’t risk allowing her to connect to me.  I won’t do anything that could put us in danger again.  But it would be worse if I wasn’t around for you anymore because I shut down.”

“You’re the one that mentioned it,” Riki sighed.

“Breakfast is ready,” Cal said as he finished setting out some dishes of food. 

Riki turned his head and looked over the spread.  He tried to pull free but wasn’t able to.  “Iason?”

“Let me hold you a bit longer,” he whispered.

“But I want food,” Riki whined.  He gave up and turned into a rag doll in the blonds arms.

Quietly Katze entered the room.  He waited a moment then sat at the far end of the table.  He didn’t really want to be anywhere near Iason right now since he knew that the blond knew what he did.

Cal sat at Iason’s right after looking over the table. 

…

Riki walked into the office and was surprised.  “Was the room always this big?”

“We combined two rooms,” Katze said from the corner. 

“Why are there two desks,” he asked as he walked over to the back of the room where two desks we sitting.  He turned and walked towards the chair terminal in the middle of the room.  “What’s this thing?”

Iason walked in and stopped at the terminal.  “This is a systematic scanner.  I will be able to resume tasks I once did for the syndicate as well as Raoul will be able to monitor me remotely.  With the one I used back in Eos, I was able to process thousands of requests an hour,” he explained as he sat down.

Katze activated the laptop to ensure that the system was up and running.  “Ready when you are, Master.”

“Step back, Riki,” Iason said as he activated the chair.  It leaned back a bit and a dozen screens loaded in front of him.  He tapped a few screens and waited.  “Appears all systems are active.  Contact Raoul, confirm the uplink to his system.”

“Yes Master,” Katze said as he pulled out a phone.  “Lord Am, we’re ready.”

Riki watched quietly watched everything unfold.  He was surprised though when Iason’s eyes closed.  “Hey…Iason!”

“It’s alright Riki,” Katze replied.  “Raoul has started his diagnosis of Iason’s system.”

He took a deep breath then sat down next to Iason’s terminal.  He leaned against the unit and waited.  He wanted to make sure that Iason was alright.

“Do you think Raoul will be able to find out what is wrong with him,” he whispered.

Katze was silent for a moment.  “I’m sure he can.  This time Raoul can run a better diagnosis,” he replied.  “Hey pest, did you tell Iason about what I did?”

“Are you crazy?  Iason would kill both of us,” Riki said as he leaned back a bit.  “I’m not that stupid.”

“Then how does he know that I touched you,” Katze asked as he stood up and walked over to the terminal. 

“What do you mean he knows?  We’re both fucked,” Riki said as he shot up.  He turned to look at Iason for a moment.  Quietly he stared at Iason’s sleeping face.  “Nice knowing you, Katze.”

Katze sighed as he rolled his shoulders.  “He told me if it happens again, he’ll kill me,” he mumbled.  “I need a smoke.  Want to come?”

He took a deep breath.  “Ya…how long will be he out for?”

“Few hours at least.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, the next (and possibly last) chapter is kinda sappy....But I'm done editing this one, and I have started on Forgotten: Alternative which I will start posting once this one is done.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry on the delay. Work + Class during the Holidays sucks. But here is the last Chapter of this one, the Alternate to it should be coming at some point.

Riki stared up bored at the ceiling.  Iason had left to go meet with Raoul and Katze to ensure that things were going correctly.  But this meant Riki had nothing to do.

Jumping off the couch, he looked around.  An evil thought popped into his mind – while the Master was away, the Pet would play.

He paused, mentally slapping himself for referring to himself as a pet.  But it was a moot point now.  He let Iason call him it now as a pet name since he was free.

He walked towards Iason’s office and entered through the automatic door.  After he had told Katze about Iason doing his work, the Black-Market Boss had reached out to his former Master via Raoul, offering him something to do.

Because of that, and Iason’s brain issue, the bedroom on the second floor was changed into an office.  Riki had never been in it before, but Iason said it looked like his previous office back in Eos; just smaller.

Quietly Riki sat in Iason’s chair.  He kicked his feet up onto the desk and sighed.  He was still bored.

He turned his head to the right where something caught his eye.  A drawer was open that was normally closed.  What more, it was a drawer with a biometric lock that required Iason’s code to access.

Removing his feet, he sat normal.  He opened the drawer cautiously.  He knew he should respect the privacy of his mate, but he wanted to know.

He stared looking over the content; pulling out books…all of them were like he had never seen before, even in the Black Market.

Each looked like they had Iason’s hand writing on the covers.  They all had date time frames on them.

Leaning back, he opened one.  Every page had Iason’s neat, perfect hand writing on them.

The first pages talked about problems; issues between Iason and others.  There were interactions with Cal, Raoul, Katze, but most was about him.  The other constant was general issues he was having.

After a few pages, the context was different.  It provided an insight as well as directions.

“He’s directing himself,” he mumbled as he tossed the book down.  He pulled out the one that didn’t have an end date yet and thumbed through it.

It took a moment but he found the last entry.

_“I can see why and how I fell in love with Riki, but it’s hard to have feelings for someone you don’t know.  We have been together here for three months and I try, but we have nothing to connect over.  I’ve watched the videos over and over and I can feel your passion for him, but I can’t reciprocate it._

_The only reason we have Riki is what you did to him.  But I can’t…I want him to be happy and safe.  I can’t bring myself to hurt him.”_

Tears collected in Riki’s eyes.  If he understood this, only part of Iason cared about him…no, only part of Iason _loved_ him.

Wait, Video?  Did he read that right?  Quickly he re-read and confirmed that’s what it said.

He tore book after book out before he finally found them: three hologram players.  Next to them he also found his old pet ring.

Nothing would stop him, he needed to know.  He selected one and set it on the desk.  When he pushed play, Iason’s face filled the screen.

_“If you are seeing this, Raoul was able to wake your mind after resetting it.  It was a hard decision, but it was needed.  If we hadn’t, you would have lost everything._

_I requested Cal to hold onto this.  Keep him close, he is one of the best attendants out there.  He takes care of your needs and gets along with Riki._

_Your name, as I’m sure you have heard after waking, is Iason Mink.  You…we, are the selected head of Amoi and the Tanagura Syndicate.  The only being above us, is Jupitar._

_This is information you need to know, even though it’s no longer accurate.  Jupitar betrayed us and tried to take our love away.  She believed it was best for us.  Raoul will explain more about the effect this had._

_Riki…I can’t use words to describe what he is to me.  If I had never have found Riki, I fear I would be inactive by this point.  He is what has kept me going.  Riki is my world._

_He was gone for a year.  I watched him die…I reached for him as he fell to his death.  These weren’t emotions we were programed to handle.  But when he died, I broke.  It wasn’t possible to live without him._

_In the past, I let him run free for a period of 18 months.  While he was gone, I was still able to check on him.  I had people that watched him for me. But when he died…there was nothing._

_When he came back to me though, that was all I needed.  To have him with me and near me was all that mattered._

_That’s why I’m taking this drastic step.  Riki is everything, so keep him close and keep him safe.”_

The hologram ended.

By the end of the hologram, he was holding the pet ring in his hands. 

Riki sat quietly.  His mind was trying to process what he just heard.  It didn’t seem possible…it wasn’t right.

Iason shouldn’t have to suffer like this!

He jumped out of the seat and ran out of the room.  He didn’t stop until he was outside and away from the manor.

With a thud, he plopped down on the ground.  Tears streamed down his face.  No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t control them.

…

Iason entered the manor as the sun was setting.  He pulled off his gloves and removed his cloak.

“Welcome home,” Cal said as he ran up to assist.

“Thank you Cal,” he replied as the furniture took the cloak.  “Where is Riki?”

He shook his head.  “He left a few hours ago without a word to me.”

Iason took a deep breath as he looked over the room.  “Bring a glass of wine to my office please,” he said before walking away.

“Yes Master,” Cal said before running off.

No matter how many times Iason said not to, Cal still called him by the title.  From time to time he would call him by his name, but not very often.

Iason stepped into the office and headed for his desk.  He stopped when he saw his desk was littered this the journals he had been keeping.

After a few weeks he had realized what happened between the mental states wasn’t always remembered.  It got to the point where he decided to keep journals where they could communicate.  It helped more than he thought it would.

But he made the decision to not tell Riki.  He didn’t want him to know how much he was suffering inside.

Seeing the mess, he knew it was a mistake.

Slowly he walked over to his chair and looked over the items.  He noticed his love’s former pet ring was gone from its spot.

Cal walked in and was surprised by the mess. Normally the blonde’s desk was in perfect order while Riki’s was a disaster.  “Would you like me to clean up,” he asked as he set the wine glass down.

“No, I would rather have you start a trace on Riki’s old pet ring.  I have a feeling that where ever it is, is where we will find him,” Iason said as he glanced out the window.  “I fear he’s not going to want to come home.”

The teen nodded silently.  “Yes Master,” Cal said as he walked out of the office.  He walked over to the living room terminal and started the search.

Iason quietly walked into the room.  He finished off the glass of wine and set it on the counter.  “I should have told him, shouldn’t I,” he mumbled.

“Would have been best,” Cal replied as he continued typing.  “Riki loves you very much and it’s hard when he finds things out about you on his own.”

Iason smiled before walking closer to Cal.  In the past he would have had the furniture decommissioned for speaking to him in such a way.  But since leaving Eos, he had allowed the other to be bolder.  “Have you located him?”

“Yes,” he said as a location popped up on the screen.  “Riki is about ten minutes away.”

“Thank you,” Iason replied as he memorized the location.  He turned on his heels and followed the tracking data.

Iason quickly walked to where the data was and stopped when he saw Riki.

Leaning against a tree trunk, Riki stared at the pet ring he held in his hands. 

After a few minutes Iason walked up and sat next to Riki.

“Scared the fuck out of me,” Riki said as he adjusted next to Iason.  “Why are you here?”

The blond wrapped his right arm around Riki’s waist.  He reached out and took the pet ring from Riki.  “I keep this as a reminder of where we started.  A reminder of where we don’t want to end up again.”

Riki leaned in a bit.  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to cause you trouble, Riki.  I love you enough to not want to hurt you,” he whispered.  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the journals,” he said softly.

The other nodded.  “I know,” he mumbled.  “I just wish you had told me, Iason.  I want to help you!”

“I know, Riki.  I’m sorry.  I will remove the lock from the drawer so you can access them at any time.  I can also write them when you are in the room, if you wish,” he said softly. 

“That’s a little over board, Iason,” Riki mumbled.  He adjusted in the others arm.  He reached out and took the pet ring back.  “This is technically mine,” he mumbled.

Iason smiled softly.  “I seem to recall paying for it.”

“Not my fault you bought an overpriced piece of metal,” he mumbled.  “I need a nap.”

He chuckled then pulled Riki close.  “Take a nap in my arms then.”

Riki thought about the statement for a moment.  “What if…if the other you comes out though,” he whispered.  “The other side of you doesn’t like me very much.”

“It’s not that I don’t like you.  The issue is that my other side doesn’t see you the same way as I do,” he explained.  “I was hoping that my mind would sync but it seems instead I’ve become more fragmented.”

“What can I help with,” Riki whispered as he glanced up at the blond.  “How can I help you?”

Iason pondered the question for a moment.  “I’m afraid there is nothing you can do, my pet,” Iason said before kissing Riki’s forehead.  “Come, let’s go back.  I’m sure Cal is worried about you as well after you bolted out.”

He sighed before he stood.  “Come on Iason,” Riki said as he held his hand out.  “A nice long bath sounds good right about now.”

Carefully Iason stood and took his lovers hand.  “Sounds nice,” he whispered, kissing Riki’s head.  He carefully took the pet ring back.  “I would rather hold onto this for you.”

“Whatever,” Riki said as he rolled his eyes.  “Keep the stupid ring.  It was nothing but a fucking nuisance to me anyways.”

Happily Iason led his pet back to the manor.  “Go ahead and head up to the bedroom.  I’ll be up in a few minutes,” he said as they walked into the house.

“Fine,” he mumbled before he headed up the stairs.

“Welcome back, Master.  I’m happy you were able to find him,” Cal said softly.  “Would you like me to bring you anything?”

Iason sighed as he removed his cloak.  “I’ve told you Cal, call me by my name.”

The teen froze.  “I’m sorry,” he whispered as he looked down at the floor.  “It’s hard for me to refer to you by your name.”

“You do it with Riki,” he pointed out.

He blushed.  He knew it was true.  “Riki used to get mad at me if I called him anything else.  So much that he wouldn’t talk to me or ask me for anything.”

“Perhaps I will have to do the same,” Iason said as he started towards the stairs.  “For now, bring a snack and drinks to the bedroom.”

Cal took a moment before turning into the kitchen.  He opened the fridge and pulled out some fruit.  He placed it on a tray and grabbed a bottle of wine.

…

Quietly Iason wandered into the Master bedroom and paused when he saw Riki lying on the bed.  “Interesting,” Iason said when he saw the former pet on the bed, naked.  “Having fun?”

“I got bored of waiting for you.  Bath is already filled, ready to go,” he said softly.  “I didn’t want to get in without you.”

The blond smiled as he started stripping down.  “Come my pet,” Iason whispered as he held a hand out.

Carefully Riki sat up.  He took the hand and was pulled into the bathroom.  He waited for Iason to settle into the tub then got in after.  “I think I get it now,” he said as he adjusted in the water.

“What’s that,” he asked as he wrapped his arms around Riki. 

“How to tell which of you I’m dealing with,” he mumbled.  “Mad I missed it.”

“And how is that,” Iason whispered as his hands started roaming lower. 

Riki closed his eyes.  He tried to pull back but relaxed in the arms.  “You call me ‘pet’,” he hissed when he felt the hand wrap around his manhood.  “The other you…fuck,” he mumbled.  “Calls me Riki.”

Iason smiled as he continued his fun.  He ran his cheek across Riki’s hair.  “You will always be my pet, Riki.  I love you,” he said as he tightened his grip. 

“Shit,” he cried out.  “I don’t remember asking to be molested.”

“You’re the one that is always asking for sex.  When I finally give it to you, you don’t want it anymore,” he asked as he purred in the mongrel’s ear.  “Riki,” he whispered.

Riki rolled his head back.  “Screw you,” he cried, being denied the ability to release.

With ease, Iason spun Riki around so that he was being straddled. “What do you want, Riki?  Tell me, pet.”

He felt the hard appendage pressing against his butt.  His eyes were half open as he looked at Iason.  “I want to fuck you, _pet_.”

The smile on his face grew larger than before.  He slid forward and forced their lips together.  There was a minor fight for dominance between the two of them. 

This was the great thing about neither of them being human.  Iason didn’t have to worry about smothering and hurting the other.

After a bit they pulled apart.  Riki stared at the other waiting for a minute.  “Let me cum,” he cried.

…

Riki laid on the bed on top of Iason.  He was sleeping peacefully as Iason slept below him.  The sheet barely covered either of them.

“Iason,” Raoul called out as he entered the room.

The blue eyes instantly opened and he looked over to Raoul.  “What can I help you with, Raoul,” he whispered.

Raoul stared at the two for a moment.  “I need you to get into the terminal.  I believe I have the update you need.”

Iason took a deep breath.  Carefully he pulled Riki from off of himself.  When he noticed Riki waking up, he quickly slipped the pillows and blankets into Riki’s grasps.  “I’ll be back my love,” he whispered as he crawled out of bed.

Averting his eyes, Raoul looked away from the naked other before him.  “You could wear pants to bed,” Raoul mumbled. 

Chuckling Iason walked towards the bathroom.  He grabbed his robe and slipped into it.  “I like the feel of the sheet on my skin,” he said as he walked out into the room.  “Shall we,” Iason said as he tied the robe.

Raoul quietly followed Iason to the second-floor office.  Iason walked to the terminal and sat down in the seat.  “Do you think this will really do it?”

“I believe so,” Raoul said as he walked over to the desk.  “Interesting mess.”

Iason smiled softly.  “Riki made the mess, but we went straight to the bedroom when we came back.  I shouldn’t have hidden it from him, I know that now.”

“Let’s fix you,” Raoul said as he activated the computer.  He watched as Iason’s eyes closed and the chair reclined a bit.  “I hope to Jupitar this works, my friend.”

…

Riki opened his eyes and looked around.  Last thing he remembered he was laying on Iason.  But now the blond was lying next to him.  He wasn’t even holding him.

He took a deep breath before he pushed himself more into the pillow.  If Iason wasn’t touching him, it likely meant that it was the other side of him.  If that’s the case, he might as well not even be in bed anymore.

Finally he sat up and crawled to the edge of the bed.  He rubbed his shoulders before he stood.  Turning he spread the sheet over the other.

As Riki pulled away, Iason grabbed his wrist.  “Where are you going,” he asked softly.

“Go back to sleep, Iason.  I’m just going for a shower,” he mumbled as he pulled free and walked to the bathroom. 

Iason blinked a few times but passed out.  His mind was spinning after what Raoul had done to him.  Sleep was a good thing right now.

After a short while, Riki came back out of the bathroom wearing a towel around his waist.  He walked to the closet and quickly got dressed in some loose clothes.  Silently he walked out of the room and down the stairs.  “Cal, what time is it,” he called out.

For a reason or another, Iason had taken out everything that told time.  It was his way of helping Riki relax, but in the end it bugged him more. 

Cal walked out of kitchen with a soft smile.  “After lunch time,” he said softly.  “Would you like anything?”

“Why did Iason let me sleep so long?  Fuck, why is he still asleep,” he asked as he sat on the couch. 

“Lord Am was here this morning working with Iason,” Cal said as he walked and sat across from the other mongrel.  “I’m sorry, I don’t know what the purpose was.”

Riki leaned his head back.  “I hate that you know me so well,” he mumbled.  “What did they do?”

“I’m not sure, Lord Am wouldn’t let me in the room,” he mumbled.  “I know that they were in the office and that’s it,” Cal said as he curled up to lay his head on the arm of the couch.  “Iason seemed very out of it after, while Lord Am led him to the Master Bedroom.  He had me assist Iason in undressing.”

Riki sighed as he lay down on the couch.  “Damn, I must have been really out of it.”

Cal smiled.  “I pulled your hair and you didn’t even flinch,” he said softly.

“Freaking kidding me?  Little brat,” Riki growled.  “Just for that, I want coffee and breakfast.”

The teen started laughing as he stood.  “What would you like to eat?”

“I don’t care,” Riki said as he rolled over.  “Just gimmi food and coffee,” he replied.

Cal quietly walked towards the kitchen.  He knew that Riki was messing with him but he had no issue with it.  At least now the mongrel talked to him and treated him like a friend.

In the kitchen he paused as he looked around.  Slowly he took inventory of what was in the kitchen and sighed.

He needed to go shopping.

After a moment Cal walked over and started coffee.  Once it was done, he grabbed a banana and took the cup to Riki.  “Here you are.”

Riki peaked over his shoulder and sat up all the way.  “What the hell,” he mumbled as he took the coffee.  “What’s with the banana?”

“I’m sorry, I need to go shopping.  If you want to come with, I wouldn’t mind the company,” Cal said with a soft blush.  “I could always use the assistance in picking meals, and bringing back the bags.”

He downed the coffee and took a deep breath.  “If you want company, you can always ask, Cal.  You know I have nothing better to do with my time.”

Cal smiled as he held out the piece of fruit.  “You should eat something.”

Riki snatched the banana.  After a minute he started eating it.  “Pest,” he mumbled.  He looked up when he saw Iason start descending the stairs.  “Afternoon, lazy.”

“Return to bed, Riki,” he said from the bottom of the stairs. 

“I’m not tired though,” Riki groaned.  He stared at Iason for a moment and noticed that he was standing perfectly still.  “Hey, you okay?”

Iason blinked a few times.  “Return to bed, Riki.  I want you next to me.”

Slowly Riki stood and walked over to the blond.  “You look really out of it, Iason.  Are you okay or what?”

“Return to bed, Riki.”

Riki sighed.  “Ya, this thing is broken.  He’s stuck on repeat.”  He took Iason’s hand and led him upstairs to the bedroom.  Quietly he led Iason to the bed and waited while he got on it.  “Go back to sleep, Iason,” Riki whispered when Iason was back on the bed.

“I want you next to me,” Iason repeated.

Quietly Riki crawled on the bed and collapsed on top of Iason.  “Swear you’re broken,” he mumbled.

Iason wrapped his arms around Riki and rolled to his side.  He kissed Riki’s head and held him close.  “I love you,” he whispered.

Riki curled into Iason’s grip as much as he could.  “Love you too,” Riki mumbled.

“I need to sleep more.  My system needs to finish,” Iason said before falling asleep again.

The former pet sighed as he tried to get into a comfy position.  He looked up and saw Cal at the door and smiled.  “Sorry, guess I’m not going anywhere.  Kind of mad I drank that coffee now,” he said as he tried to adjust again. 

Cal smiled before grabbing the blanket from the end of the bed.  He pulled it up and covered them both.  “Would you like anything before I leave?  Maybe a book?”

“No, I’m fine,” he mumbled.  “I’m just gonna lay here.  Maybe I can pull free after a while.”

“Good luck, Riki,” Cal said as he walked out of the room. 

Riki stared at Iason’s face quietly.  His face was so pristine and disconnected.  He looked peaceful.  As long as he could remember, he didn’t think he had ever seen Iason so calm.

“Sexy as fuck,” Riki mumbled.  He hummed for a moment as he thought about what Iason said before he passed out.  “Wonder what your system is doing,” he whispered.

Finally he curled into the others arms and closed his eyes.  After a while he was able to fall asleep as well.

…

Iason watched as his lover slept in his arms.  For the first time in months, his mind was clear.  He wanted to do nothing more than stare at his Riki in his arms.  Though, sex didn’t sound like a bad idea.  But he would have to wait for the other to wake up.

He played with the loose strands of hair before kissing Riki’s forehead…then his cheek…then his neck.

Riki let out a moan before trying to pull free.  He opened his eyes a little and noticed Iason’s mouth exploring his neck.  “Iason,” he cried out.  “Stop it,” he mumbled.

Iason smiled as he hovered over the other.  “Evening, sleepy,” Iason whispered.  “I want you.”

“Why are you acting funny,” Riki whispered.

Happily Iason sat up and pulled Riki with him onto his lap.  “Raoul believes he has solved the problem.  My mind is clear for the first time in a very long time, and the only thing I can focus on is you.”

Riki paused for a moment.  “So you’re back then?  No more other you?”

“No more,” Iason said as he held Riki close.  “I’m all yours from now on,” he whispered.

Quietly Riki pulled free and crawled on the bed, away from the blond.  “I need to use the bathroom,” he said as he walked into the bathroom.  After a minute he walked back out and stopped before the bed.  “So sexy, how you feeling then?”

He smiled softly.  “I need you, Riki,” he said as he held out his left hand.  “Just seeing you makes me aroused,” Iason commented.

“I can tell.  You have a little mountain formed under the sheet,” Riki mumbled.  “Just don’t hurt me, kay?”

“Never,” Iason replied when Riki started crawling on the bed.  “I will always be gentle with you.”

…

Riki leaned over the balcony staring over the ocean.  He lifted the cigarette to his lips then let out a puff of smoke after a moment. 

He was free.  He could do whatever he wanted now. 

No pet ring, no demanding blondie controlling his every move.  He and Iason were on equal footing now.

And now with Iason somewhat back to normal, everything was easier. 

Iason walked up behind Riki and wrapped his arms around the other.  He took in a deep breath of the black hair.  “Hello Riki,” he whispered.

“Hey,” Riki said as he pushed back a bit.  “Still doing fine?”

“Yes, thank you for asking,” Iason replied as he kissed Riki’s head. 

Riki shivered slightly.  “Cal is working on dinner,” he said as he tossed the butt over the edge.  “We just had sex for three hours.  I’m tired.”

The blond smiled before he released the mongrel.  “Dinner should be done in a few minutes.  I checked with Cal on my way out to you.”

“Hey Iason…how long can we stay like this?”

“As long as you want to,” he replied softly.  “We can stay here or leave if you want to. We can go where ever you want.”

Riki smiled before turning.  “I love you, Iason.”

“Love you too, Riki.”

 

END.


End file.
